


Canadian boy

by Pufnica



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Drama & Romance, Friendship/Love, M/M, Multi, Romance, Slow Romance, love triangle kinda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-13
Updated: 2017-04-17
Packaged: 2018-08-22 05:30:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 38,219
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8274566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pufnica/pseuds/Pufnica
Summary: Haechan is popular soccer captain, who is in love with Hana for nearly all his life. But when a new transfer student came and wins Hana's heart... Haechan decides that Mark is his new enemy. But, Haechan's heart doesn't seem to get that...





	1. Chapter 1

Half an hour late – Haechan stared at his watch as he ran down the street and ducked under the principal's window, counting the seconds. One more minute and he'd break his record. But it was okay that his little sister flipped the table after he said there was no point riding her new pink bike across the street to school, because the first block on Thursday was just English, and nothing ever happened in English.

Well, that  _should_  have been true. So there he was, doubled over in the doorway of the second-floor English class, huffing and sweating and his bag slipping half-way down his shoulder, probably looking like a total idiot – and there, standing at the front of the class, staring at him with these amazing brown eyes, was a cute stranger.

"Uh…" Haechan heard the dumb word roll off his tongue and cringed inwardly. Then, in the distant background behind the boy, he saw Mrs. Park's eyebrows knit together at the center of her face, and remembered to say, "Sorry I'm late."

"You're awfully late, Kim Haechan."

Haechan straightened and ran a hand through his probably hideously windblown brown hair. "That's what I said." He agreed, giving her his sweetest smile, but the woman's lips remained just as thin.

"Sit down." She said sharply.

"Yes, ma'am." Haechan winced at her glare and grinned sheepishly at the class. Half of the girls giggled, the other half kept staring up front. He took a seat in the third row, tapping the black haired girl sitting on the shoulder.

She turned around, brown eyes wide. "You're early."

Haechan leaned forward. "I know, Hana. Who's that?" He nodded his head to the front, where the boy was standing looking tall and hot and awkward in his striped polo T-shirt while the teacher wrote his name up on the board. Lee Mark.

Hana's lips twitched into a small, cute smile. "Isn't he hot? The dark red hair..."

 _Yeah, but I'm not about to say that out loud, I'm a guy!_  Instead, Haechan scoffed put his finger on her forehead and gave her a bit of a shove. "Who cares."

"He's from Canada _._ " Hana sighed dreamily, her eyes fluttering. "And he's a year older than us."

Haechan raised an eyebrow.  _And that's attractive to you? That just makes him sound dumb to me._  "Great." He said dryly, instead. "A Canadian boy."

Hana rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to reply, but Mrs. Park's shrill voice beat her to it.

"Haechan, pay attention!" She snapped, slamming her dry-erase pen on the whiteboard ledge. "If you want to socialize that much, then why don't you be Mark's buddy and escort him to his next class!"

" _Huh?_ " Haechan widened his eyes and stared at her incredulously, while Hana's smile disappeared and she turned quickly in her chair. The class quieted, and up front, Mark shifted uncomfortably and looked at the door like he wanted to leave.

"Well, that's settled then." Ms.Park took a deep breath, like she'd just done a lot of work, and gave Mark a pat on the shoulder. "Why don't you take the seat next to Haechan, dear. He'll bring you to your classes and introduce you to people at lunch time." The grooves of her face deepened as she smiled.

"Ah… okay." Mark said in a hesitant, soft voice. There was an audible sigh from Hana, and Haechan sank deeper into his chair, frowning as the boy walked towards him. Mark gave him a crooked, shy sort of smile and slipped into the seat next to his.

There were only five minutes of English left and Haechan kept his eyes on the back of Hana's head, staring at her shiny, straight strands of black hair, ignoring the little glances that Mark kept giving him. When Ms. Park finally stopped talking and announced their dismissal he remained in his seat as Mark came to stand by the corner of his desk.

"Uh… I'm Mark." He began, smiling hesitantly. "Nice to meet you. Haechan, right?"

Haechan nodded curtly, avoiding the boy's eyes as he watched Hana shoot him upsetting looks all the way out the door.

Mark waited quietly for a couple seconds, then laughed and put his hand on the desk. "Sorry, is it your off-block? I can find my way to class myself."

 _He has big hands._  Haechan stared at the boy's long, muscular fingers for a moment, then shook his head and stood up with a heavy sigh, dragging his bag over his shoulder. "Nah, I'm awake." He said, brushing past the boy and heading for the door.

He heard another little laugh and faint footsteps as Mark followed him.  _What's so funny?_  He thought irritably. "What class do you have next?"

The footsteps stopped and there was some rustling. Reluctantly, Haechan stopped and turned around to see Mark with a piece of paper held up to his face.

"Chemistry," Mark said finally.

"With Mr. Kim?"

Mark looked up, his eyes alight in surprise. "Yeah."

Haechan sighed and turned around. "Great," he said, hoping his sarcasm wasn't too obvious. "Me too."

Thinking it'd be  _too_  much of a jerk to completely ignore Mark, Haechan consented to point out parts of the school they headed for the opposite end of the third floor, where the sciences department was. Within just the three-minute walk to class, Haechan had counted a couple dozen girls eyeing them, half of whom were his friends, and a couple of his teammates from soccer looked at Mark with an expression that plainly said "checking him out" as they waved to Haechan through the crowd of teenagers.

Haechan left him once he passed through the door of Kim's classroom and headed straight for Mika, plunking his bag beside her and sprawling into his chair with a sigh.

Mika lifted her head from her arms, hazel eyes blinking sleepily, and brushed her brown curls away from her face. A rueful smile came onto her pink lips when she saw Haechan's face, which he bet didn't look pretty. "Good morning." She offered, rubbing her eyes.

"Not really." Haechan pulled his bag off the table, pulling his textbooks out. He caught sight of Mark standing uncertainly near the door, gaze flickering around the classroom but always landing back on Haechan, and felt a twinge of guilt. But then Mr. Kim came in and gave him a high-five and showed him to a spot beside Renjun, one of his old friends since elementary. The two of them fell into natural conversation, and Haechan looked back again feeling perfectly irritated.

"My sis threw a total tantrum today, I spent all morning wiping up the milk and I was late for class. Then I'm assigned to bring this new kid around all day. I only got two hours of sleep yesterday, too." He complained, totally slouching into his chair as he shot a glare in Mark's direction. He didn't want to be mean, but it was okay, cause Mark was too busy laughing about something with Renjun to notice.

"Oh, but he's hot," Mika observed detachedly.

Haechan felt his face heat up and sat up, surprised.  _Wait, did I just blush?_  "Why would I care?! I'm a guy!" He said indignantly.

Mika sighed calmly. "I know. I was just saying, you sure you aren't grumpy because Hana's going head over heels for this guy?"

Haechan winced but regained his composure when he saw Mark shoot him a look from across the classroom. "Why should I care?" He scoffed, opening his homework and pretending to study it. "She's always like that."

"Hmm." Mika raised an eyebrow, a smile twitching at the corners of her lips.

"Oh, yeah," Haechan said in an attempt to change the topic. "Why aren't you sitting with Renjun today?" He glanced at Renjun. "Did you break up with him again?"

Mika shrugged. "He was being dumb."

Haechan laughed dryly. "You have such high expectations."

Mika shrugged again, throwing her brown curls over her shoulder and taking her glasses out. "I'm not about to go out with someone who fails their tests." She glanced up, hazel eyes enlarged by her glasses, and blinked again. " _Oh._  He really  _is_  hot."

"Give me a break." Haechan groaned and turned his attention to the teacher, trying to ignore the stare that Mark was giving him.

.

Ten minutes to the end of class, there was a knock at the door and Hana walked in. Mr. Kim paused in his lesson and gave her a look, but she just scrunched up and smiled shyly and pointed at Haechan.

"May I speak to him for a second? It's for the photography club."

Mr. Kim raised an eyebrow and nodded, the hint of a smirk on his face. A wave of  _oohs_  ran through the whole class as Haechan rose to his feet with a tedious sigh, grabbing her arm and pulling her out the door quickly.

"What the hell?" He hissed, once the door was closed.

"Ohh but I needed to ask you a favor!" Hana grabbed his hands and held them up between hers, gazing up at him with wide dark eyes.

Haechan swallowed hard and tried to keep his glare steady.  _Damn, calm down._

"Can I switch with you?" Hana begged. "I know you're tired, so I'll show Mark around today, alright?"

 _Oh, so that's what it is._  Pissed now, Haechan pulled his hands away and flicked her lightly on the forehead. "No." He said smugly. "I'm keeping Mr. Hottie to myself."

Hana wrinkled her nose. "Don't be gay."

" _What_  did you call me –"

"Oh pleaaaase?" Hana whined, batting her eyelashes.

Haechan promptly lost track of his thoughts. He waited for a moment as he scrambled to recollect them, but in the end, all he ended up saying was "Fine, if you want to that badly." No, it wasn't fine!

"Yay!" Hana squeaked and rammed him into the wall with her hug. "I love you, oppa!"

"Ri-ight." Haechan said dryly, his heart cramping from the effort of trying to believe it.

.

Haechan went back to class struggling to feel nonchalant. Mark was staring at him with something that looked like concern, but seeing the boy's handsome face only pissed him off more so he stared at his hands for the rest of class.

 _They're so dainty compared to his._  He mused, flexing his thin fingers.

Once class dismissed Hana was inside before anybody even left. Mika packed her stuff and left abruptly, no doubt onto her next class even though it was morning break. Renjun left early too, which was rare, but then again his eyes had been following Mika. Haechan just stayed in his chair, taking his time packing, watching Hana prance up to Mark from the corner of his eyes.

She leaned over the table and beamed and said something sweet. Mark looked up and smiled back and offered her a handshake. She laughed and took it and for a moment looked like she would pull him towards her – but it was just a normal handshake. Then she said something else and Mark's smile faltered. His eyes narrowed and his brows furrowed in confusion. He looked over at Haechan, and before Haechan could pretend he totally wasn't staring at the two of them, he saw the flash of hurt in Mark's brown eyes and stopped short, his heartbeat twitching weirdly.

_Huh?_

Haechan stood up and rammed his binders into his backpack. Hana, following Mark's gaze, looked at him and smiled and waved – he tried to smile back but it felt like a grimace and gave them a thumbs up. Then he flung his bag over his shoulder and ran out of the classroom as fast as he could, mind spinning and chest contracting painfully.

_Man, I really didn't get enough sleep, what's with all this weird soreness? Maybe I should call in sick for today…_


	2. Chapter 2

"Uh-oh, someone didn't do their homework…"  
  
Haechan scowled as he heard Hana's voice echoing from somewhere beyond his chemistry homework, breaking his concentration as he tried to remember the molar mass of lithium bromide. "Damn it, you made me lose track!" He slammed his pencil on the paper and looked up with a pouting glare, but Hana just laughed back.  
  
"If you really cared about your homework then you should have finished it." She said, turning around as Mrs. Park snapped at her, sending another wave of giggling _oohs_ from the class.  
  
"I would have if my sis hadn't kept me up all night cleaning the mess she made trying to bake cookies!" Haechan hissed at her back. Hana just shrugged, and signing, he went back to frowning at his paper.  
  
Then somebody tapped him on the shoulder, and he looked over to see Mark's handsome face. It gave him a bit of a start – he'd forgotten about him.  
  
"Was that the moles' worksheet we got yesterday?" Mark asked, his eyes wide.  
  
"Yeah, why?" Haechan said. _Let me guess, you didn't finish it? Mr. Perfect isn't that perfect?  
_  
"If you want, I can lend you mine." Mark smiled sheepishly. "I mean, if you care about the homework mark that much."  
  
Haechan bit his tongue. _Yeah, I want the homework mark, but I've got my pride too, you know._ After treating someone like a jerk, it was awkward accepting their kindness.  
  
Seeing Haechan's hesitation, Mark drew back a bit, expression guarded. "But if cheating's not your thing…"  
  
Haechan held out his hand. "It's called teamwork." He muttered, gesturing with his fingers for Mark to give him the homework.  
  
A grin swept over Mark's face and Haechan smiled back before grabbing the piece of paper and turning away quickly, shoving all his concentration onto the task at hand. It took a lot of effort – he couldn't help but remember Hana's endearing expression as she greeted Mark like they were boyfriend and girlfriend holding hands rather than two people giving each other handshakes for the first time. And it really didn't help that Hana kept looking over her shoulder, no doubt sneaking glances at Mark. It wasn't _fair_. He'd watched her go through all the wrong people dozens of times, but this was different. She hadn't even known Mark a day, and already Mark was ahead of him.  
  
                                                                                                                               .............

  
Thanks to Mark, Haechan finished his chemistry homework and ended up rushing his in-class English assignment – of all days Mrs. Park had to have an in-class assignment! – meaning he was still writing sentences about diction and tone while Hana led Mark out the door, giggling and looking totally delighted whenever Mark laughed back. He handed in his essay five minutes after class ended, avoiding Mrs. Park's glare of hatred as he slipped out the door, staring at the ground.  
  
Right away he crashed into someone and looked up, about to snap _what kind of idiot stands in the doorway_ when Hana beat him to it.  
  
"Watch where you're going!"  
  
"What kind of idiot stands in the middle of the doorway?" Haechan snapped back before he realized something was off and looked around her. "Hey, where's Mark?"  
  
"He went to the bathroom." Hana sighed. "I've been waiting but it's been an awfully long time."  
  
"Yeah, well, you can't rush a dump," Haechan said irritably, slipping his binder into his backpack. He took a few steps towards his next class, then paused and looked back. Hana gazed at the posters on the wall for a moment, brown eyes hazy. When she realized that he'd stopped she turned and her eyes sharpened, her dazed expression turning into a smart-ass smirk.  
  
"What are _you_ looking at?"  
  
Haechan blinked, realized he'd been staring, and looked distractedly down the hall. "Looks like he's not coming." He observed, carefully maintaining a nonchalant tone. "Why don't I walk you to class today, princess?"  
  
Hana laughed, then hesitated and skipped up to him. "You don't mind? We're already late and my class is on the opposite wing of the school."  
  
Haechan shrugged, struggling to ignore the small hands gripping the loose fabric of his jacket. "Well if you get a stranger to do it for you, why can't I?"  
  
"Mark's not a stranger," Hana objected. "He likes me!"  
  
"Hahaha." Haechan said dryly, and she shoved him a bit.  
  
"Come on! I'm serious this time!" Hana pouted. "You never believe me, Haechan!"  
  
"Yeah I did," Haechan objected, "I believed you when you said you thought Hyuk would last a week."  
  
Hana wrinkled her nose. "Well that's cause he's a douchebag. But Mark's different, I can tell." She sighed happily. "He's hot, and nice, and gentle, and honest…"  
  
"And boring, and dumb…" Haechan continued, laughing when Hana shoved him harder. "Oh come on. I'm _way_ better." He said before he could stop himself.  
  
Hana just laughed out loud. "Oh _really_ now?" She said, and Haechan waited for her to deny it but she never did.  
  
It was silent for a while, then Hana sighed again.  
  
"What's up?" Haechan said, shooting her a concerned look. "I was just joking, you know –"  
  
"Jeno asked me out again yesterday…" She said, brushing her bangs aside. "I told him 'no' but he said he's not giving up. He's getting annoying, this is like, the third time."  
  
"I'll talk to him," Haechan said calmly, trying to sound like it was no big deal.  
  
"Really?" Hana turned around as they stopped around the corner of her classroom door. She gazed up at him with bright, dark eyes, grinning questioningly.  
  
"Yeah sure, why not?" Haechan forced himself to smile and shrug.  
  
"Yay! Thank you, oppa!" Hana squealed, and threw herself into him for a brief hug before turning and running into her classroom.  
  
                                                                                                                              .............

  
Haechan stumbled back down the hall in a bit of a daze, and by the time he made it to Chemistry, Mr. Kim had started their notes. He spent a moment in the doorway checking out the available spots – one beside Hina, but that was at the front… Renjun was sitting with Mika again, interesting… and Mark was watching him from the back row.  
  
 _Oh, wonderful._ Reluctantly, Haechan went around the desks. Mark gave him a hesitant sort of smile as he plunked down in the chair next to him and took out his notes. He meant to act like he was in a rush to copy them down before Mr. Kim erased them, but then Mark pushed his notebook over a little.  
  
Haechan looked up at his notes, then glanced at Mark and felt his face turn hot. Jerking away, he nodded and muttered _thanks.  
_  
"Did Hana get to class?" Mark asked after a while.  
  
Haechan felt his pen jerk across the page and swore under his breath. "Yeah. You were in the bathroom for a while."  
  
"I thought you'd like to walk with her," Mark replied lightly, and Haechan looked up at him again.  
  
"What do you mean?" He asked, trying to act confused.  
  
Mark smiled a little. "Oh come on. I don't want to get in the way. Did you take her to class?"  
  
Haechan opened his mouth and nothing came out. He struggled for a moment with words, then decided to let his little favor go and nodded with a sigh. "That girl can't do anything by herself."  
  
Mark chuckled. "You must've been with her a lot before I showed up then."  
  
"We're just childhood friends," Haechan mumbled, avoiding Mark's warm, knowing brown eyes.  
  
They kept quiet for a while as Mr. Kim gave his lecture – but after he handed out a worksheet and gave them free time, returning to his desk with his iPad, Mark started to speak again.  
  
"You're captain of the soccer team, right?"  
  
"Huh?" Haechan gave him a wary look, then remembered. "Oh, Renjun, right?"  
  
"Yeah, he told me." Mark smiled sheepishly. "How far into the season are you guys?"  
  
"We're halfway through districts, we have two more games left." Haechan relaxed a little and put down his pen. "If we win these two we'll come in first. Why, do you play?" He sat back in his chair and eyed Mark through a different perspective, observing the boy's lean, strong figure. He looked like a natural athlete.  
  
Mark smiled that crooked, awkward smile again. "A bit, in Canada. My school wasn't very big, so I was captain up there."  
  
Haechan felt his eyebrow shoot up. "Cool, you should join." His tongue slipped, and he went back a couple steps. "I mean, you'll still have to ask the coach."  
  
"Yeah, I know." Mark twirled his pencil, fidgeting as an excited light came into his eyes and he looked off into the distance.  
  
 _Looks like he's serious._ Haechan observed him quietly for a moment. _He really isn't a bad guy. I mean, I'm the annoying one here._ Feeling a little guilty, he turned back to his worksheet and said offhandedly, "We have practice today after school. Why don't you drop by, you can talk to Coach then."  
  
Mark turned to him, grinning widely. "Really? Thanks!"  
  
Haechan shrugged. "It's no big deal."  
  
"No, it is. I'm glad I can still join, I was looking forward to it." Mark said brightly. "I heard you guys have a strong team."  
  
Haechan felt flush and leaned under the table to get his water bottle. "We're okay." He said, but he couldn't help but smile. "Sorry about yesterday."  
  
Mark's expression faltered a little, then eased into an apologetic smile. "No, I understand. I shouldn't have accepted Hana's offer."  
  
Haechan swallowed his water with some difficulty. "Whoah but," he spluttered, "it's not like I was upset that I couldn't show you around or anything –"  
  
Mark paused, eyes clouding over in confusion. They stared at each other for a while, then Mark started laughing.  
  
"What?" Bewildered, Haechan grabbed his shoulder. Mr. Kim looked up from his iPad, grinned, then returned to his game.  
  
"Nothing," Mark said between gasps of laughter. As he calmed he took a deep breath and sighed, chuckling. "I know. Don't worry, I'm not interested in Hana."  
  
Understanding, Haechan felt himself heat up all over again and swore. _Stupid! He meant Hana!_ "Right, I knew that I was just clarifying." He said, then laughed when he realized just how stupid that was.  
  
Mark grinned, holding out his hand. "So I'm okay now?"  
  
"I'll think about it." Haechan smiled, accepting his handshake. Mark's warm fingers wrapped around his and their eyes met – for a moment Mark's smile faded and his eyes darkened, and Haechan felt a warm dizziness spread over his head – then they released each other's hands, and the moment broke.  
  
"…Yeah." Haechan said awkwardly, turning back to the worksheet. "Uh, question three, do you get it?"  
  
"Lemme take a look." Mark sounded just as dazed as he flipped his worksheet upside down and flipped it back, looking for question three. "Oh, it's like this…"  
  
Haechan held his breath as Mark leaned over him and wrote equations on his piece of paper.  
  
 _What the hell?_ He closed his eyes for a moment and shook the tingling out of his body, then forced himself to concentrate on the question. _Come on, Haechan. You really need more sleep.  
_  
"So… you're from Canada, right? That's pretty cool, is it cold?" Haechan asked in an attempt to distract himself from Mark's body warmth hovering above him.  
  
Mark's brows furrowed, and a hot look of concentration came onto his face. "Uh, yeah." He said distractedly.  
  
"Why'd you move?" Haechan continued, as Mark sighed and erased the equations he'd written, starting over again. "Wait, it's like this." Without thinking, he grabbed Mark's pen, their hands brushing all over, and bent down to write on the paper in an effort to hide his blush.  
  
"Oh, I see," Mark said sheepishly, sitting back in his chair. "Makes sense, I was overthinking it." He laughed it off, and Haechan smiled with him.  
  
"Uh, you didn't answer my question."  
  
"Huh?" For a moment Mark looked alarmed – then his eyes lit up as he remembered and he smiled a little nostalgically. "My parents love to travel. They fell in love with the seafood up there but after the oil spill, things just aren't doing well, so we moved." He shrugged. "There isn't too much color up there. I'm liking it here better, so far."  
  
"Well, it's warmer, for sure." Haechan agreed.  
  
"We had four huskies, too," Mark said absent-mindedly.  
  
" _What?!_ " Haechan exclaimed, turning to him, and Mark laughed again.  
  
"I knew you'd say that." He grinned knowingly, a little obnoxiously, but Haechan was too awed to care.  
  
"That is _so_ cool." Haechan sighed, scribbling lines on his paper agitatedly.  
  
"Yeah, but we gave them to my uncle when we moved," Mark said, a tinge of regret to his voice. "They were a great group. The alpha female was really gentle."  
  
"Do you have pictures?" Haechan demanded. "Show me sometime!"  
  
"Sure, once I get a new cell phone." Mark smiled. "My parents are in the U.S.A, but they promised they'd get me one when they come back."  
  
Haechan turned back to his homework with a jealous sigh. "You're lucky." He said ruefully. "Good looks, good build, good life…"  
  
"You think I look good?" Mark laughed, but his smile became bittersweet. "I guess I have it good, huh? Makes me wonder why I don't feel that way…"  
  
"Really?" Haechan gave him a serious look. "Maybe you're missing something."  
  
"Nah, I think I'm just greedy." Mark's brown eyes glittered, and for a moment Haechan just stared back unknowingly. Then he became aware of the intensity of the boy's icy gaze, and turned back to his homework, clearing his throat loudly.  
  
"Hey, what about question five?..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter. Do you guys think it was a pointless one, cuz I sort of do. Nothing big happened *frowns* ah, oh well. Tell me what you think. ..... But, I promise it gets better. The first few chapters are terrible, but the story progresses like… in a few more chapters. Promise! Thanks so much for reading! ^.^


	3. Chapter 3

Haechan didn't see Mark again until lunch break when he went to his usual spot beside Hana and her usual group of friends and saw that Mark had taken it.

"Hey, Haechan." Mark's eyes lit up when he saw Haechan approaching, and Haechan did his best to hide the queasiness in his smile when he saw Hana pressed up against the boy's shoulder.

"I see my spot is taken," Haechan spoke jokingly, but he stung inside.

"Oh, really?" Mark stood up. "Sorry, I didn't know–"

"It's okay," Areum, one of Hana's close friends, said firmly, gesturing for Mark to stay with an elegant flick of her hands. "Haechan can find his own spot. Hey Hana, why don't you sit on his lap? That way he has a seat." Smiling smugly, she shot Haechan a  _you-owe-me_  look.

"Stupid," Hana giggled, while Haechan shot Areum a glare. "I'm too heavy for Haechan."

"You're like, ten pounds." Hana's other friend, Sora, brushed her brown hair to one side and rolled her eyes, then smiled at Haechan. "Haechan can sit on  _my_  lap."

Haechan laughed. "Why thank you." He went over and Sora leaned back, offering her well-toned arms up. Haechan sat and she made a face.

"Holy shit you're like a feather!"

"Haechan, you shouldn't sit on a girl," Hana said, sounding a little upset.

Sora raised an eyebrow. "Jealous?"

"I'll scooch over." Mark interrupted, moving closer to Hana and opening up space beside him.

"No, it's fine. There's plenty of space." Haechan pointed out, standing back up. Sora gave him a bit of a shove as he went to the other side, sitting across from Mark.

"My legs are numb." She complained.

"You offered first," Haechan said, avoiding Mark's gaze as he took out his lunch. "Ugh, salad."

"Salad's good for you." Mika's cool voice brought their heads up.

"Right, like I need to know that," Haechan muttered under his breath.

"Oooh," Sora cooed first, while Hana and Areum giggled. "Look who it is."

Renjun, his hand entwined with Mika's, flushed and looked at Haechan squeamishly for help. Haechan smiled and shook his head as Mika sat down next to him, dragging Renjun with her.

_It's your own problem, big guy._

"Welcome back to the girl's table, Renjun," Areum smirked

"Girl's table?" Mark said in bewilderment. "But Haechan –"

"It's okay, he's around girls so much that he's included in the term 'girls'." Sora laughed. "Isn't that right Haechan? Everybody knows that 'girls' means 'girls and Haechan.'"

"Oh, shut up," Haechan said, surprised to find himself flushing. He normally didn't care – he had a good enough reputation otherwise – but the way Mark was eyeing him made him feel strange. "It's just because I'm so nice, you princesses all come to me crying when your boyfriends break up with you."

"Yeah right," Sora scoffed, at the same time Areum sighed.

"That's kind of true, you know," Areum said, looking up a little dreamily. "What was his famous line, again? 'Why are you crying, princess? Hold up your head, your tiara is falling?" She snickered, and Haechan glanced off to the side with a scowl.

"And who was the one that was crying?" He muttered.

"Haechan's like our counselor," Hana said proudly, rubbing her shoulder against Mark's with an obliviously happy smile.

"Yeah, he's a nice guy," Mark said, his gaze fixed on Haechan the whole time.

Feeling warm all of a sudden, Haechan brushed it off with a laugh. "Nah, what kind of guy wouldn't want a girl to come running to them when they cry?"

"I've never done that," Sora said indignantly. "It's just Hana."

"Cause you know," Areum grinned. "Haechan and Hana have a thing."

Haechan clenched his fist as Hana turned to him, looking surprised. "We do  _not,_ " he said firmly, finishing the last of his lunch and standing up to leave. In the background, the girl's laughter and cooing voices rose, but all he was aware of was Hana saying  _"Stop it, we're just friends!_ "Gritting his teeth, Haechan tossed the remainder of his apple into the nearest trash bin and hesitated for a moment, knowing this was his chance to go back to the table.

"Aw, c'mon Haechan! Just joking!" Areum called, and Sora's smirking voice added,

"It's not like it bothers you anyway, right?"

Sighing, Haechan steeled himself and turned back, waving at Renjun to scooch in so he could take the corner of the table. He looked up and smiled sweetly at Sora's famous cat-grin. "I was just throwing my trash away, you got a problem? If you want me to stay here that bad, then I'll make  _you_  my trash bin next time."

"Oh-hoh," Sora's grin darkened. "Yes, I was  _so_  sad when you left." She patted something underneath the table. "I was needing a legwarmer."

"That's so gross," Hana sighed, finally taking her attention away from Mark for a second. "Stop making Haechan do those kinds of things."

"What kinds of things?" Sora said innocently. "I'm only trying to make you jealous –"

"Well stop it, cause it's not working," Hana said tartly, touching Mark on the arm. Sora raised an eyebrow and, seeming to notice Mark for the first time, paused to give him a quick scan over.

"Hm, not bad." Sora agreed with a nod.

Mark smiled sheepishly. "Uh…"

"Hey, I have a question for you guys." Mika interrupted coolly, pushing a piece of paper into the midst of their half-finished lunches.

"Oh jeez," Sora said, turning away, while Hana and Areum leaned forward in genuine interest.

"Come on, I need some help from… experienced… people." Mika said with a faint smile as she pointed out the variables on her piece of paper. "Okay, so let's say that it takes about this many seconds per thrust, so there are this many thrusts per minute, and each one consumes this much energy. Supposing it moves this far, how many calories do you burn per hour of sex?I heard my older sister talk about something like that."

Sora raised an eyebrow, her originally bored expression lighting up in curiosity. "Huh? Let me see."

"What do you mean by experienced?" Areum complained in the background. "I  _wish_  I was."

Haechan sighed in relief as they started bickering over the question, catching Mika's eye for a moment and smiling in thanks.

Mika just nodded briefly, turned and fixed one of Renjun's messy hairs, and passively nibbled on her sandwich.

Tuning back into the conversation, Haechan was momentarily startled to see where the topic had gone.

"I've  _never,_ " Hana said adamantly, face red, while Sora reached over Areum to poke her in the arm, cooing.

"Liar, you've had  _so_  many boyfriends, how can you not have done something?"

"Yeah, what about with Haechan?" Areum piped up.

Haechan sighed. "Now why would you even suggest that?" He said in a gently lecturing tone, giving Areum a venomous glare as Hana cried  _"No way!"_  and shook her head.

Areum gave him an apologetic smile and shrugged. Sora rolled her eyes.

"Hey, what about you?" Sora nearly jumped up to speak to Mark, who had been zoning out until then.

He seemed to pop out of his reverie with a start and stared at them for a couple uncomprehending seconds. Hana remained quiet, face red but wide eyes staring at him, and Areum leaned forward in obvious anticipation. Haechan realized a couple seconds later he was holding his breath and looked away in annoyance.

 _What the hell, why do I care?_   _These girls seriously need to control their hormones._

"I'm sorry, pardon?" Mark said eventually when they didn't elaborate. "I didn't catch that."

"Have you ever, you know," Sora said, lowering her head and giving him a hinting look.

Mark stared at her blankly.

"You know," Areum made motions with her hands.

"They're asking you if you've ever had sex," Haechan said dryly, and all three girls reeled like they were shocked to hear him say it.

Mark stared at him for a while, and Haechan waited for him to deny it. Then his face flushed, and he didn't answer, and all three girls broke out into a chorus of gasping.

"Are you  _serious?!_ " Sora squealed, looking ecstatic. "What was it like? Who was it with? Was she older than you? Was it her first time too?"

"Look," Mark said uncomfortably, glancing away. "I've never –"

"Then what was that pause all about?" Areum jumped in excitedly. "And the blushing and all?"

Mark sheltered his head in his arms, looking totally miserable. "I didn't –"

" _Really now,_ " Hana giggled, and at that point, Mark looked up and gave Haechan a desperate look.

Sora followed the look and her eyes lit up instantly. "Oh my  _god,_  do you know something about this?" She said, pointing at Haechan.

Startled, Haechan moved to defend himself, but Hana beat him to it.

"What are you  _talking_ about," Hana said, face contorting for a moment. "Why would Haechan know anything about this? They're barely friends."

"Yeah," Areum agreed after a moment's thought. "You're finally losing it, girl. I mean your sanity."

"Hey look, there's two minutes until class!" Haechan said loudly, standing up with a sigh and a dramatic stretch.

"Haechan pull down your shirt," Sora called. "It's turning me on."

Haechan laughed, swinging his bag over his shoulder. "That's not my problem. Hana let's go, you have a quiz today remember?"

Hana's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah!" She made to take his offered hand, but then hesitated and looked back at Mark. "Come on, Mark! We're in the same class, let's get there on time!"

 _Right, they're in the same class._  Annoyed, Haechan tucked his hands into his pockets, about to offer to leave when Mark beat him to it.

"Nah, my stomach's not feeling so good today," Mark said, standing up with a grimace. "I'm going to the bathroom."

"Again?" Hana reached out and rubbed Mark's arm. "Get better."

"Yeah, thanks," Mark said with a friendly smile. "Excuse me." He then added, before turning and jogging away.

"Way to bolt," Sora commented, with a sly look at Haechan.

Haechan pursed his lips, ignoring Sora as he turned and headed in the direction of Hana's classroom. "Come on, let's go." He repeated, a little less enthusiastically.


	4. Chapter 4

 

 

 

He walked Hana to class in silence, neither of them too keen on making conversation, which was rare. Hana also thanked him at the door, which was another rare thing – not unpleasant, but out of habit, and things that were out of habit worried Haechan. He brushed it off and gave her an awkward one-armed hug, then bade her good luck and headed back the hall to his own class.

Along the way, he received a couple nods from his teammates, and a couple girls gave him grins as they passed, but otherwise he didn't meet up with anyone. It wasn't until he was at the door of his Geography class that he realized he'd been looking for Mark in the crowd of traveling students. But before he could think too much about why somebody shoved him through the door – hard.

"Captain, you're in the way."

Haechan stumbled into the nearest desk, balanced himself, then turned around with a grin. "I'd be a good goalie huh, Jeno?"

Jeno laughed, a deep throaty sound that, combined with his lean and strong build, made him seem way more mature than he actually was. "Maybe, if the goal was the size of a doorway."

"You think I can't?" Haechan challenged mockingly, jumping up and blocking Jeno as the boy tried to get past him.

Jeno raised an eyebrow and, laughing, shoved Haechan easily aside. "Sit down."

"Foul!" Haechan shouted after him, and the teacher promptly told him to shut up.

Taking his seat next to Jeno, they were consequently drilled with an hour of intense notes and lectures, so much that even their after-lunch long-block of an hour and forty-five minutes passed in a flash. For the last forty-five minutes of class they had work block and Jeno, being an independent goody-goody, worked quietly by himself, forcing Haechan to do the same. It wasn't until half an hour later when he turned a page in his notebook to see that Hana had drawn a panda with a purple pen, that he remembered.

"Hey, Jeno."

Jeno looked up reluctantly from his calculus homework. "What?" He said, sitting back and stretching. 

"About Hana…" Haechan trailed off, smiling sheepishly. The annoyed look on Jeno's face enough to tell him that they knew what was going on.

"Look, it's none of your business."

"It is if she asks me for help," Haechan said, struggling to keep his smile up. With Jeno, it was difficult sometimes. He was a good guy, but he thought he was the best of the best. And he wasn't far from it, technically speaking.

"Doesn't mean it's any of your business," Jeno said stiffly, looking at his workbook.

"Look, man, I don't want to sound rude, but…" Haechan counted with his fingers. "She rejected you one, two, three… four times? And she's come to me for help… twice now? This is getting kind of creepy, you know. Why do you like her so much?"

"Okay, I know you're just worried because you like Hana too." Jeno sighed, turning around to face him. "But she doesn't hate me, and we have a good time together. Maybe you should let her go and give me a chance."

"I would if I thought you _had_ a chance," Haechan said before he could stop himself. But he didn't take it back and met Jeno's cold brown eyes challengingly.

Jeno's eyebrows knitted together and he frowned deeply. "You know what, I don't want to talk about this with you, it screws up the team. Just leave us alone." He said finally, turning back to his homework.

Sighing, Haechan placed a hand on Jeno's shoulder and felt the boy tense up. "You're a good guy, Jeno."

"Got it. You can shut up now." Jeno said, shrugging his hand off.

Thankfully, they only had to spend five awkward minutes together before class was dismissed. Haechan, already packed and ready to go two minutes before the clock struck three, stood up and stacked his chair at the back, bolting out the door.

"Haechan!"

Haechan promptly skidded to a freeze, one hand on the doorframe, staring at the attractive face smiling at him from the opposite end.

Mark uncrossed his arms and stood up from where he'd been leaning against the wall. "You, uh, might want to move." He said, grinning crookedly, gesturing behind Haechan.

"Huh?" Haechan glanced over his shoulder and saw a mini-horde of tired students glaring at him. "Oh, sorry." He stepped to the side, and Mark came up to join him.

"I saw your timetable, sorry if it's creepy, but I wanted to make sure I wouldn't get lost on my way to practice," Mark said gently. "Is it out in the fields or in the gym?"

"Out in the fields usually, we meet in the gym, though," Haechan said, unable to shake off the tingly feeling he was getting. It felt warm, and after a moment Haechan realized that they were almost nose-to-nose from each other.

_Isn't he kind of… close…?_

Haechan turned away with a laugh. "It's weird, though, for a second it felt like I was being picked up by my boyfriend."

 _Idiot! Why would you say that?!_ He kicked himself mentally right after, but Mark just laughed with him.

"You've been around girls _way_ too much, Haechan." Mark's gaze flickered somewhere else and Haechan followed it to see Jeno looking at them from the middle of the hallway. When the boy saw them looking, he nodded.

"I'll go down first and change, Capta-chan."

"Don't call me that." Haechan forced himself to grin. "Tell Coach that I'll be there soon, I'm bringing a new kid in."

"Yeah, sure." Jeno glanced at Mark skeptically before he turned and disappeared in the mass of students down the hall.

Turning back, Haechan caught Mark staring after Jeno with bright eyes. Amused, he gave the dazed boy a small shove on the shoulder. "Excited?"

Mark blinked and looked at him, breaking out into a big grin. "Hell yeah."

"Did you bring clothes?" Haechan asked, glancing at Mark's black t-shirt and sweats.

"No…" Mark grimaced.

"Oh, well... You could play in that for a while." Haechan shrugged, gesturing for the boy to follow as he started leading the way to the gyms.

                                   ....................................

Haechan led Mark into the gym first before the boys could finish changing, in case they made a big fuss.

"Wow, it's nice in here," Mark said as they stepped through the double-doors, eyes sparkling as he gazed around the tall, blue-grey walls.

"Really? Personally, I think the lighting sucks." Haechan said offhandedly, catching a stray basketball and tossing it back to the grade nine kid that had been scrambling after it.

"Well, my school in Canada was pretty worn-down."

"Ah, right," Haechan said, spotting their coach just as he left the PE office. Pointing the man out to Mark, he called out. "Coach!"

The man turned and waved his clipboard in the air. Grinning, Haechan grabbed Mark and jogged towards him.

"Good afternoon Haechan." The man said brightly, the lines around his dark blue eyes crinkling as he smiled. "Who's this, your new boyfriend?"

"Yeah – I mean, no, he's new, but he's not my boyfriend," Haechan said quickly, raising an eyebrow as both Mark and the man grinned. "Oh come on guys."

"Sorry, sorry." The man crossed his arms over his clipboard and struggled to put on a serious face. "So who is this?"

"Coach, this is Mark." Haechan gestured at each of them in turn. "Mark, this is Mr. Park."

Mark nodded and smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"You, too," Mr. Park said pleasantly. "So why's he here, Capta-chan?"

"Don't call me that, it's so _lame._ " Haechan sighed. "He wants to join the team."

At that, Mr. Park's frowned. "It's a little late, Haechan."

"I know, but we're short on a good forward aren't we?" Haechan pressed. "I'm running my ass off out there coach, I could really use some help. He used to be captain back in his old school."

Mr. Park raised an eyebrow, turning and looking Mark up and down. An odd look came over his face, and then his lips twitched into a bemused smirk. "You always bring good-looking boys onto the team, Haechan. First Renjun, and now him."

Mark's ears turned red. "Uh –"

"At least give him a chance," Haechan begged, hopping from foot to foot agitatedly.

"Well, sure, no harm in letting him stay today." Mr. Park shrugged. "But you better go change, we're heading out to the fields in five minutes."

Breaking out into a grin, Haechan nodded and said, "Yes sir," turning and promptly crashing into Mark.

"Sorry –"

Haechan froze and realized he was holding his breath as his face came close to the warmth of Mark's chest – then he came to and shoved the boy away. "Jeez, hurry up will you?" He snapped, brushing past and walking quickly down the hall, hoping Mark hadn't seen his face burning red.

Most of the guys were done changing and were just loitering around when he went in. Haechan told them to hurry up and they promptly rejected him, pointing out that he was late, but gradually dispersed out the door. Renjun stayed behind in a casual conversation with Mark, which Haechan was glad for – not that he thought it'd be awkward if they were alone in the change rooms or anything, like really, they were both guys and all…

The practice itself wasn't too big of a deal. They ran five laps around the field for warm-up and Haechan stayed just a little behind Renjun and Mark, who were talking animatedly the whole time. He wasn't in the greatest mood by the end of it and told himself it was because they were going so slow that he hadn't gotten a good warm-up. Then they did some drills and Haechan ran to get them some balls. By the time he came back, Renjun had paired up with Chenle, one of the mid-fielders, aka Mika's twin brother, leaving Mark to wait for Haechan with an awkward sort of smile on his face.

"Well, I guess it's you and me," Haechan said brightly. He slammed the ball to the turf as hard as he could and watched it bounce into the air, feeling some of his pent-up frustration from god-knows-what dissipate with the throw.

Mark bounced the ball on his knee before catching it, cocking his head a little. "So what are we doing?"

"Passing drills for the first fifteen minutes." Haechan pointed out the colored cones on the ground that formed their obstacle course.

Mark grinned and ruffled his shirt. "Easy peasy." He let the ball drop on the grass and, on cue, Haechan ran ahead.

It was awkward at first – or at least it seemed that way to Haechan, but as the exhaustion kicked in he gave up trying to act and found himself genuinely enjoying practice. They even fit in a short game at the end. Mark was put in the opposition defense and they ended up constantly together. Despite his apparently happy and dumb personality, Mark was terribly competitive, not to mention that he was _good._ At one point, Haechan became so distracted by the boy's great big sweaty grin that he lost the ball for a second to a junior player – at which point Renjun recovered it and scored the winning point.

"Damn!" Mark laughed, giving Haechan a firm shove. Surprised, Haechan toppled backward, landing on his butt with a grimace, and Mark immediately apologized. "Oh shit, sorry. Didn't know you were so unbalanced there." Looking worried, he offered Haechan a hand.

"Nah, I don't need help from a _loser._ " Haechan stuck his tongue out, getting up himself and brushing his shorts off.

"Oh really now?" Mark raised an eyebrow, eyes glittering mischievously. "We'll see about that next time when the teams are fairer."

"They were totally fair," Haechan said, laughing because he knew that they totally hadn't been. Mark joined in briefly, then they trailed off and another awkward silence sprung up.

Then Mark sighed and ruffled the collar of his shirt, tilting his head back. "Whew, it's burning hot in these clothes. I wish I could take my shirt off."

"Nobody said you couldn't," Haechan said absent-mindedly.

"You won't mind?" Mark said anxiously.

"Why would I mind?" Haechan scoffed, picking up a nearby soccer ball and kicking it towards Mr. Park, who was collecting them back.

"Well – okay then."

The next moment Haechan turned, Mark had his shirt hanging limply around his neck. He didn't realize he was staring until someone started a cat-call, and he didn't realize he was blushing until Mark gave him an odd look.

"You okay? You're kinda red."

"Oh – yeah, I left my water back in the gym," Haechan said smoothly, turning around and walking away, patting his face in what he hoped was a normal fashion.

But Mark just caught up to him anyway. "You can have some of mine." He offered.

"Nah it's okay, I'm kind-of sick," Haechan said offhandedly, relieved when Mr. Park came up to them, taking both their attention.

"Mark, was it? What's your last name?" Mr. Park said, scrutinizing the boy with his arms over his clipboard.

"Lee." Mark replied politely.

Mr. Park's eyebrows shot up and he nodded slowly. "Interesting. Well, Lee Mark, you're on the team. Wednesdays and Fridays after school from three-fifteen to five thirty, you'd better be here." He slapped Mark on the back, then withdrew his arm with a grimace, wiping his hands on his pants. "And bring some clothes next time."

Haechan laughed and earned himself a well-meaning glare from Mr. Park. Mark grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, I know I'm sweaty."

"It's all good. Go back and change boys, you worked hard today." Mr. Park squeezed Haechan's shoulder, then turned and yelled at someone to bring the balls back to the gym.

"Thanks Mr.  Park," Mark said.

"Thanks Coach," Haechan echoed, and they followed the group back in a tired, happy companionable silence.


	5. Chapter 5

After practice people usually left the change rooms quickly. Exhausted, starving, and impatient for the weekend to begin, Haechan just stripped everything and changed into his school clothes, oblivious to Mark's presence. He said a vague bye to everyone, grabbed his bag, and left first. Mika was waiting outside in the hallway, either for her brother or for Renjun – probably the latter – and they exchanged nods, but that was it.

At home he showered and joined his family half-way through dinner, ate the green beans his little sister picked out, finished another lesson of his online English course, then crashed into bed.

Despite being exhausted, it took Haechan a while to fall asleep. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Mark – _damn,_ that _body –_ so he stared at the ceiling for a while, concentrating on the glow-in-the-dark stars he'd stuck up there when he was little. His eyelids started getting heavy, and he was about to pass out when his phone rang.

"Oh you've got to be kidding me." Sluggish, Haechan flung an arm over the side of his bed and groped the carpet for his cell phone, finding it and pulling it from the charger. He swore, looked at the caller ID – and all his anger dissipated. Sighing heavily, he resigned himself to a night of little sleep and accepted the call.

"Hey, Hana."

"Sorry, were you asleep?" Hana's voice was faint through the phone and he frowned, unable to tell if she was just calling to bother him or if something was up.

"Almost."

"Oh, sorry." There was a long pause, and eventually, Haechan sighed.

"It's okay. What's up?"

"Um… I don't want to bother you."

Haechan raised an eyebrow at his stars. "A little too late saying that, isn't it?"

"…I'm really sorry."

"I'm just kidding." Haechan rolled over and looked out the window. Across the street, the light in Hana's room was on. "Tell me what's up."

"Okay… did you talk to Jeno today?"

"Yeah, we had long block together." Haechan felt his brows knit together. "Why? He's still bothering you?"

"I wouldn't call it bothering anymore." Across the street, the light turned off, then flickered back on.

Haechan chuckled. "What are you doing with those lights, Hana?" He heard a giggle on the other side and smiled, wrapping himself in the bed sheets. "I'm afraid I don't understand morse code." He whispered.

Hana giggled. "It's an SOS."

"Really?"

"No dummy, I just dropped something. Had to turn on the lights to see it." There was a pause, then an audible sigh. "I ran into Jeno today at the supermarket."

"Uh-huh?" Haechan said, letting her know he was listening.

"He was following me around the whole time. I mean, we talked and that was nice, but he started saying weird stuff."

"Define 'weird'," Haechan said warily.

"…He said stuff about you…" There was a long pause, and Haechan waited with his breath held. Eventually, Hana said quietly, "He said you told him that you like me."

_ Shit, shit, shit. _ Haechan sucked in a breath, then forced himself to laugh. "Really? When did that happen?"

"I… I don't know, Haechan, I mean, now that I think about it, everybody's been saying it…" Hana said hesitantly.

_ Damn him, damn… _ Haechan sat up, wide awake now. "Look –"

"We're really good friends, right?" Hana interrupted.

Haechan swallowed, feeling a painful lump go down. "Yeah. Of course, we are."

"Is this why you don't like Mark?"

"What are you talking about? We're good friends, aren't we?" Haechan stammered. "You aren't seriously going to believe Jeno, are you? Come on, if it were true I would have told you myself. I tell you everything!"

There was a long, long pause. Haechan felt the urge to go to the bathroom, and he willed Hana to hurry up.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry, it was just bothering me, and…"

"No problem." Haechan sighed in relief. "So we're all good?"

There was another hesitant pause.

"Okay Hana, because I made you worry, I'll give you a present." Haechan said, heart racing as he looked at his stars for ideas. "Uh, I'll set you and Mark up on a date. Okay?"

"Really?" Hana's response was immediate – she sounded ecstatic, and for a moment Haechan was happy too. But then he realized what he'd just said and punched himself inside.

"Yeah, I'll see what I can do." He forced himself to say. "Look Hana, I'm tired…"

"Oh, yeah, of course." Hana's voice hushed. "Sorry for waking you, Haechan."

"It's okay."

"Good night."

"Good night, Hana. Sweet dreams."

There was a beep as Hana hung up and Haechan dropped his phone on the ground with a sigh. He slid out of bed and headed for the bathroom – then returned and collapsed face-first on the mattress. All at once the day's exhaustion washed over him, and in a matter of seconds he was asleep.

..................................

The first thing he became aware of Saturday morning was the bright light shining into his face. Groaning, Haechan rolled away from the window and grimaced as he felt stickiness – then he realized he was covered in sweat, and that it was burning hot in his cotton pajamas. Grumbling irritably, he reached a hand into his shirt and lifted it up, struggling to sluggishly pull it over his head. He ended up stuck in an awkward elbow-lock with his clothes, and by the time he freed himself he was totally awake.

_ Ugh. _ Haechan sat up and gazed half-lidded at the sheets. Dazed, he felt his stomach growl and realized that the warm air smelled sweet and buttery. His stomach growled again.

_ Okay, okay… _

Haechan sat in bed for another minute, tempted to just fall back onto his pillow. He scratched his head and rubbed his face, then sighed and slid off, promptly stepping on his cell phone.

"Ow…"

He stumbled his way to the bathroom, where he used the toilet and brushed his teeth and washed his face. A little more awake, Haechan went back to his room and looked through the window, peering up at the cloudless blue sky. After a moment's thought, he went and changed into white shorts and his favorite navy-blue short-sleeve hoodie. He grabbed his cell phone and keys, took a deep breath, and walked out into the hallway.

"Mommy I want some cookies too!"

Wincing as his little sister's yelling immediately pierced his ears, Haechan jogged down the stairs and was overcome with a huge yawn as he walked into the kitchen.

"Morning Haechan." His mother said breathlessly as she ran around retrieving her keys from the countertop, then her bag from the sofa.

"Morning Mom." Haechan peered behind him and saw daylight streaming into the laundry room – the garage door was open, and judging by his mother's shorts and her untied, curled brown hair, his parents were probably out on a date.

"You can have one cookie, Haneul."

"Why can't I eat _all_ the cookies?!" His sister stomped on the hardwood floor, tears bubbling up in her eyes as she crossed her clenched fists across her chest.

"They're for the neighbors, honey. Oh, Haechan, we have new neighbors, could you go and deliver the cookies to them?" His mother grabbed his arm and kissed him on the cheek.

"Sure, Mom."

"And make sure you don't leave Haneul alone, got it?" His mom knelt down and gave the angry girl a squeeze, then kissed her on the forehead and rushed out the garage door. "We'll be back by nine, call us if there's any trouble!"

Haechan sighed. "Yes, Mom." He said dryly. He waited until the garage door closed, then turned and gave Haneul a glare.

Haneul glared back, lower lip jutted out in a pout. "I want a cookie."

Haechan gave her a stern look, then smiled and looked at the tray of freshly baked chocolate-chip oatmeal cookies. "Actually, me too."

Haneul burst out into a giggle. "Mommy makes good cookies!"

"Shh," Haechan held a hand up to his lips and looked around exaggeratedly. "Let's sneak two cookies for ourselves for breakfast, then bring the rest to the neighbors, okay?"

Haneul grinned. "Okey dokies!"

"Go wash your hands first," Haechan said, shooing her off. She ran in the direction of the bathroom, little feet thumping against the floorboards, and he leaned back against the counter in relief.

_ Man, this is gonna be a long day… _

The cookies were delicious, and though he was guilty for wanting to take five more for himself, he and Haneul had one each. Then he packed the cookies in a plastic container, checked that Haneul wasn't in her pajamas, and headed out the front door.

Tat which point he realized that his mom hadn't bothered mentioning _where_ the neighbors lived. Annoyed, Haechan was just about to go inside and eat the cookies himself when he remembered that the house on their right had just been sold – must be it. He held the warm container of cookies in one hand and reached down with the other hand.

"Hold my hand."

"I'm not a baby!" Haneul snapped, slapping his hand with a giggle and shying away.

"Fine, but stay off the streets," Haechan said, not in the mood to be anal about the rules. He followed his sister to the house next door, calling for her to wait for him before ringing the doorbell because he had the cookies.

The house was similar to his. It was average sized, with a nice lawn and a nice shady green exterior that Haechan had always been jealous of (theirs was an ugly peach…) He looked at the window above the garage, which was where he and Hana had their rooms, and saw several ornaments hanging from the curtains. Pausing, he squinted and realized they were dream-catchers.

_ Huh. Sounds like a weird bunch. _

Realizing that his sister was shouting his name, Haechan jogged up to the door and told her to be quiet or they'd ruin the surprise. She shushed, and he rang the doorbell after reminding himself to smile.

They could hear the deep chiming of the bell even from outside. It was silent for a while, then there was a smatter of quick footsteps and Haechan took a step back, pulling Haneul with him as the door was flung back.

"Who's there?!" A young girl with short fluffy reddish-brown hair hollered. Her skin was pale and made her baggy brown shorts and t-shirt look dark. Haechan stared at her in alarm, wondering why she looked so familiar as she stood back and gave them a big grin. "Who are you?"

Haechan struggled to find his voice. "Uh…"

"We brought cookies!" Haneul said excitedly, pulling away from him. "We're neighbors, can I come play?"

The girl's eyes lit up. "Cookies –"

"Timmy, you're not supposed to open the door for strangers!" A voice called. Haechan's blinked, shocked – _that's not a girl?_ – but then he recognized the voice, and felt himself freeze over as a familiar figure ran down the stairs and came into view.

"Oh." Mark halted at the base of the staircase, surprise lighting his eyes. They stared incredulously at each other, and Haechan couldn't help but marvel at how _utterly_ hot Mark looked in his brown tank top and camouflage shorts.

"Why not? They brought cookies." Timmy pointed at the box in Haechan's hands, and Mark's eyes flickered down to look.

"We're neighbors." Haneul piped up.

"Oh… yeah." Haechan stammered, regaining his voice first. "Uh, welcome." He smiled sheepishly and held out the cookies. "My mom baked some cookies for you guys."

"T…Thanks…" Mark said, sounding equally as speechless as he came forward and accepted them. He gazed at Haechan for a while and Haechan felt his face heat up.

"Uh, we should go –" Haechan said dodgedly, looking away.

"I want to play!" Haneul whined. "I want to play!"

"Ah – haha." Mark choked out a laugh and opened the door wider. "You guys can come in."

_ Oh, please, no. _ "I wouldn't want to be a hassle." Haechan said with a tight smile, grabbing his sister. But she pulled away and ran right inside, to his extreme annoyance. "Haneul, get back here _right now!_ " He yelled, about to run after her when he remembered he'd have to step inside the house to do that. Sighing, he gave Mark a helpless look.

Mark shrugged and smiled. "Might as well." He said, jerking his head in a _come_ gesture.

"Alright… sorry for the trouble." Resignedly, Haechan stepped inside, and as Mark closed the door, his stomach growled.

Laughing, Mark led him into the kitchen. "How about helping us finish those cookies, huh Haechan?"

Flushing, Haechan rubbed his stomach. "Yes please." He said, reminding himself there was nothing to be anxious about. He was just visiting a classmate's house. No big deal. No big deal at all… _hell._ Haechan blinked and turned his eyes away from Mark's lean, muscular shoulders, landing instead on a pile of half-filled boxes in the dining room.

"Sorry about the mess, we aren't finished packing," Mark said apologetically, grabbing a couple cookies and taking a bite out of one. "Oh, these are good." He sighed contently and closed his eyes in bliss, and Haechan felt a shiver run down his spine.

He looked around for a possible excuse to leave, but his mind was racing and before he could think of something, Mark called their siblings in. They came running with squealing laughter, grabbing at the cookies in delight, and as Haneul offered him a cookie in a rare gesture of kindness, Haechan forgot about his nervousness in the buttery goodness of the dough.

"Anybody want milk?" Mark asked as they crowded around the kitchen counter.

"I do!" Haneul and Timmy chimed, and Haechan shrugged.

"Sure, I guess."

"Food is the only thing we have organized right now." Mark laughed as he brought out the milk and hunted through several boxes for cups.

"I can help you unpack." Haechan offered, watching Mark unwrap several glass cups. He washed them, then brought them to the counter.

"Would you?" Mark asked enthusiastically.

"Well, it looks like I'm going to be here for a while anyway," Haechan said dryly, as the two little kids drained their cups and ran off yelling like pirates.

"That'd be great. Honestly." Mark grinned, took all the empty cups to the sink, and rinsed them quickly. Then he turned and lifted a box from the kitchen floor, placing it onto the counter with a huff. "Let's do the kitchen stuff first since it's kind-of important."

"Sure," Haechan said, peering into the box curiously. "You'll have to tell me where everything goes, though."

"It's no big deal." Mark chuckled. "I don't really know, either."

"Well…" Haechan watched Mark pull out a package of what looked like plates wrapped in newspaper, and reached in for a similar package. "How about plates in those shelves?" He suggested.

"I don't see why not." Mark shrugged.

"Cause that's where we put ours," Haechan admitted with a laugh.

"Oh, yeah, our houses look similar don't they?" Mark said.

"Same company, that's why." Haechan contented himself to unwrapping the individual plates while Mark moved them to the cupboards. "Hana lives across the street, too." He added.

"Oh." A small frown came over Mark's face. "Childhood friends, huh?" He said, a little wistfully.

Haechan gave him a side-ways glance. "Was there someone you left behind in Canada? A girlfriend or something?" He said casually.

Mark's laugh was short and choppy. "I wish. No, my girlfriend broke up when she left for university in U.S.A."

Haechan raised an eyebrow. "How old is she?"

"Now?" Mark shifted the plates over a little, avoiding his gaze. "She'll be turning twenty this year."

"Right, you're a year older than us," Haechan remembered, shaking off his surprise. _Well if he's this good-looking, he's bound to have had a couple girlfriends._

"Yeah, I was held back a year in grade three because my parents went on a world tour. I'm seventeen." Mark shrugged. "Where do you guys put your bowls?"

"Beside the dishes." Haechan reached for the wrapped round things as Mark did the same thing. Their hands brushed again and he felt a tingle, but he shook it off and pulled them out of the box, unwrapping them. It was silent for a while and he looked up to see Mark gazing at him a little hazily. Unnerved, Haechan slid the unwrapped bowls across the counter to him. "A world tour, huh? That's pretty awesome. Where did you guys go?"

Mark seemed to start as the bowls collided into him. "Oh, everywhere." He said vaguely as he turned to put them away. "England, France, Germany, Egypt, Japan, New Zealand, Australia… We stopped by a couple other places along the way."

Haechan shook his head in awe. "That's _crazy._ And you said your parents were in the U.S.A, right? Even after they just moved?"

Mark laughed. "I know, right. They can't get enough of traveling. They'll be gone for another week and a half, they're staying in a couple different resorts. They didn't want me and Timmy to miss school."

"Timmy's your… brother, right?" Haechan said, sheepish as Mark gave him a knowing grin.

"Yeah, I know, he has a girly face and his hair's getting long. He takes after my mom."

"You guys look alike, though."

Mark raised an eyebrow. "Really? I'm more of a mix between my dad and mom."

"Well, yeah…" Haechan trailed off, thinking it wouldn't be necessary to say that Mark didn't look like a girl.

"Let me guess, you take after your mom?"

"Are you saying I look like a girl?" Haechan said in mock anger.

Mark turned away with a curious little smile. "No, you're just cute."

" _Hey now,_ " Haechan said, pretending to be bothered. "Yeah, I've heard that before." He admitted with a laugh.

"Do you think it's a bad thing?" Mark's voice was suddenly serious.

"Well… no." Haechan said, looking down as he unwrapped the paper around a square object. "Now _this_ is cute." He grinned as Mark turned around, looking surprised.

"What? Oh, that." Mark's face turned a little red. "That was a long time ago, in New Zealand." He reached for it but Haechan jerked his hand away, smirking. Mark frowned. "What are you doing? Give it back."

"Why can't I look at it a little longer?" Haechan teased.

"Cause!" Mark growled, clambering around the counter. Haechan laughed delightedly as he dodged and ran down the hall with Mark close behind. He skidded around a corner and circled back to the kitchen, then turned to see how close Mark was and was promptly knocked flat into the wall.

"Gotcha." Mark huffed with a grin, pressing his forehead against Haechan's as he wrestled the picture from the boy's hands. But before Haechan could freak out about their proximity, Mark backed off and placed the picture on the counter. "You're pretty fast, despite your looks."

Recovering, Haechan released a breath and ruffled his hair. "Well, I _am_ captain for a reason. You're fast too." He added, a little grudgingly.

"I have to be." Mark shrugged, and without elaborating he turned and gave Haechan a smile. "Hey, tell me about yourself."

"Huh?" Haechan looked around, half-expecting someone else to be behind him, but of course, there was nobody there. "Me?"

"Well, yeah. I told you lots already." Mark said. "It's your turn."

"You didn't tell me lots," Haechan objected.

Mark laughed. "Okay, let's unpack the rest of the boxes and we can play a game while we're at it."

"A game?" Haechan said suspiciously, settling back to their routine as he took out another bulky parcel from the box on the counter.

"A question game." Mark said. "Don't worry, I won't ask anything sketchy." He chuckled when he saw Haechan's guarded expression. "It's just to get to know each other better. I mean, we're teammates and neighbors, we might as well become good friends, right?"

"Yeah, good friends." Haechan echoed, wondering why he repeated what Mark had said.

"I'll go first." Mark declared. "Where are your parents?"

"Oh, they went out," Haechan said an exercised response that slipped out without him even needing to think. "They like to go out a lot, kinda like your parents but not as extreme I guess."

"So they aren't home," Mark observed as he pushed some ornamental plates onto the topmost shelf. Haechan stared at his back, eyes unconsciously wandering to his stretched, muscular arm.

"Do you work out?" He blurted out.

Mark turned around, raising an eyebrow. "A little, last year… why?" He smiled, a little smugly, and Haechan quickly put on an unperturbed façade.

"You look like you work out." He said simply. "I mean, all I have is soccer, so I'm pretty thin."

"I helped my uncle with work since I was little. I guess that's how I ended up like this." Mark rubbed his arm and shrugged. "But you're lithe, Haechan. I like that."

Haechan felt his eyebrows shoot up and ducked behind the box in case he was blushing. He patted his face, reassured himself he was fine and resurfaced. "Okay, your turn."

Mark gave him an odd look, then his eyes lit up and he laughed. "Oh yeah, I forgot we were playing. See? – it becomes a normal conversation after a while."

"Yeah," Haechan realized. Upstairs, there was a loud thump and burst of high-pitched laughter. They paused, listening, then grinned at each other and chuckled.

"Thanks for your help, Haechan." Mark said softly, his gaze suddenly serious.

Haechan felt his smile freeze a little and he glanced away. "Uh, yeah, no problem." He said brightly. "Oh hey, this is the last package…"

"Really?" Mark said, letting him change the topic easily. "Great, let's do the living room next!"

Haechan groaned, and Mark laughed.

"That is, if you want to…"

"Yeah, no problem. I mean, my sister sounds like she's having a blast." Haechan sighed as more laughter sounded from above. "Doesn't seem like I'll be leaving anytime soon…"


	6. Chapter 6

They took their time unpacking, taking two hours just to empty one box in the living room. Every time Haechan came across some interesting ornament – and there were lots – he asked Mark about it, and Mark would patiently tell the story behind the souvenir. Because they never ran out of things to talk and laugh about, time passed so quickly that they didn't realize how late it was until Timmy jumped Mark and knocked him to the ground.

"Oh jeez," Mark grunted as he pulled his brother off. Haechan, who had been sorting several books into piles, looked up to see his sister wandering meekly over, rubbing her eyes.

"I'm hungry!" Timmy announced, grabbing Mark's head and climbing over in an attempt to kiss his brother's forehead.

"Alright, alright!" Mark said exasperatedly, grabbing Timmy's arms and slamming him onto the sofa. Squealing in delight, Timmy turned and launched himself at Mark, who scrambled to his feet and ran towards the kitchen, Timmy in close pursuit.

"Oppa, I'm hungry too."

Haechan looked over distractedly as Haneul dragged herself sluggishly onto him, pulling the hood of his sweater. "Yeah, I know." He said, lifting her up with a huff and heading towards the kitchen too. "Don't rub your eyes, did you wash your hands?"

Haneul whined and kicked, and he set her down.

"Looks like she's tired," Mark said lightheartedly, looking through the Italian restaurant menu thinking what to order for dinner. Timmy was dragging a cup of salad out of the fridge.

"Yeah, I think we should head home," Haechan said, half-reluctant and half-relieved. "Thanks for having us over."

Mark's eyes lit up in alarm. "Wait, why don't you stay for dinner? Are your parents coming home?"

"They aren't coming anytime soon." Haechan said dryly. "But we've been here long enough, I think it's time to go home –"

"I wanna have a sleepover!" Haneul exclaimed suddenly, grabbing his hand. Timmy turned, threw the cup of salad on the counter and jumped up and down.

" _Yeah!_ " He shouted.

"Haneul, you've played all day!" Haechan said in dismay, annoyed by the fact that Mark was grinning. "We have to go home. Like seriously."

"No, I want a sleepover!" Haneul stomped her feet and crossed her arms, puffing her cheeks in a pout as she glared at him. "I bet Mommy would say yes."

 _She probably would, she doesn't care._  Haechan gritted his teeth. " _Haneul…_ "

Haneul glared at him a while longer, and when he didn't move, her lips trembled, and she started wailing.

"It's fine with me, you know," Mark said sheepishly, as Haechan clasped his hands over his ears. "If your parents are okay with it, I don't see why not."

Haechan turned to give Mark a glare too, but Mark just smiled hopefully. With an annoyed growl, he closed his eyes and said loudly, "Fine! Just let me phone Mom!"

"Yay!" Haneul and Timmy cheered in unison.

"Is pasta okay?" Mark said, grinning broadly.

Haechan gave him an accusing look. "You're  _happy_  about this, aren't you?"

Mark just laughed and turned, busying himself with ordering pasta. "Phone your parents and ask."

Sighing, Haechan pulled out his cell phone and walked into the other room, where it was less noisy. He speed-dialed his mom's number and waited for fifteen seconds before she picked up. As expected, she said yes, it was totally fine, and told him they had chicken in the fridge if he wanted to bring it over. Before she could run on to a list of what to bring, Haechan hastily said okay, thanks, love you, bye, and hung up. He walked back into the kitchen to see Timmy and Haneul sharing a giant cup of orange juice and cleared his throat to catch Mark's attention.

"What'd they say?" Mark turned briefly.

"She said sure, but I have to go back and get some stuff," Haechan said, stuffing his hands in his pockets and checking that his keys were still there. "Can you watch Haneul for me while I'm gone? I'll be quick."

"Yeah, sure," Mark said, brown eyes glowing with excitement. "They aren't much trouble when they're together."

Haechan gave the two another glance. "Yeah." He agreed, backing out of the kitchen. "What about your front door?"

"Eh, just leave it unlocked. You'll be quick, right?" Mark grinned. "Come back soon, Haechan."

"Thanks for the pressure." Haechan called sarcastically, and he walked out with Mark's laughter echoing in his ears. Jogging back to his house, Haechan quickly picked up Haneul's pajamas, towel, toothbrush, and stuffed unicorn, heading to his room and filling up the rest of his mini-duffel bag with his own stuff. Next he searched his pantry and found a bag of chips, then headed for the door and promptly remembered to feed the goldfish. After running through a quick mental check-list, Haechan went back out, locked the house, and ran next door.

He'd only been gone for eighteen minutes or so but as he walked in he could already catch the delicious tang of creamy tomato sauce. Peeking into the kitchen, he saw Mark leaning casually against the counter, talking to their siblings and laughing when Haneul said something indignantly. Feeling warm, Haechan paused for a moment and thought a little bit about what he was seeing. He was about to sleep over with the hot transfer student from Canada, who also happened to befriend his best friend, who also happened to play soccer, who also happened to be his neighbor… and what the hell? Was fate doing something because he'd been such a douchebag to Mark on their first day?

"What're you doing standing out there?" Mark called, and Haechan blinked and remembered to smile as he realized he'd been caught. Heading in, he placed the duffel bag in a corner on the kitchen floor and tossed the stuffed unicorn to Haneul, who grabbed it with a happy giggle.

"Thanks Oppa!" She said, and Haechan gave her a brief nod of acknowledgment.

"I brought chips, for later," Haechan said, placing the bag of Ruffles on the counter.

"Awesome, we don't have many snacks yet." Mark grinned at him. "I was craving junk food so badly that if it weren't for your sister, I'd kiss you."

Haechan stared at him for a second before he caught the fact that it was a joke – then, embarrassed, he laughed loudly and then stopped and cleared his throat. "Uh, I'll set the table."

Within an efficient five minutes, Haechan had all the plates and forks on the table and successfully lured their siblings into their seats. Mark came by with the steaming pot of spaghetti and placed it in the center. He filled all of their plates and as he came around to Timmy, the little boy took a deep breath and exclaimed,

"I love spaghetti!"

Chuckling, Mark took his seat next to Haechan and for a couple minutes they ate in semi-awkward silence. Then Timmy started up a conversation by saying his hair looked like spaghetti, and the awkwardness never came back. Everybody helped in cleaning up, Haneul volunteering to press the buttons on the dishwasher, and by the time they were done in the kitchen it was well past seven o'clock. Mark and Haechan watched television for a short hour while Timmy and Haneul coloured in the den, then at eight, once the episode of Running Man was over, Mark told them it was time to shower.

"I want to shower together!" Haneul said.

"Boys and girls don't shower together," Haechan began to explain, but Mark just shrugged and said,

"Why not."

When Haechan shot him a look, Mark laughed and gave him a small shove.

"Loosen up, they're just kids." He said, ruffling Timmy's long hair, which was starting to become frizzy. "Didn't you and Hana shower together when you were kids?"

It was the first mention of Hana for a long time and it jerked Haechan out of his happy-go-lucky trance. At first he flinched – then he recovered and sighed and gave Haneul a nod.

"I'll go get your clothes, and Uncle Mark will show you guys to the bathroom."

"Uncle?" Mark raised an eyebrow.

"It's because you're old," Haechan said with a grin.

"Oh, I'm gonna  _get_  you for that." Mark laughed as he turned to follow the little kids up the stairs. "You better watch out, Haechan!"

Their siblings ended up taking half an hour in the bathtub, playing with Timmy's action figures. Haneul, who usually had her bath right before bed, came out drowsy and grumpy, so Haechan asked Mark where she could sleep.

"She can sleep with me!" Timmy said brightly. "My new bed is big!" He held out his arms wide in an emphasis.

"She's a fidgety sleeper though, you don't mind?" Haechan warned, grinning at the little boy's enthusiasm.

"Not at all, she can have the covers because it's warm here!" Timmy said, pulling Haneul's arm away from her eyes and tugging her down the hall.

"I've never seen Timmy so eager to go to bed," Mark commented, as Haechan tucked his sister into bed and Timmy followed suit, crawling under the covers and blinking up at them with wide eyes.

"You gonna be okay here?" Haechan asked, handing Haneul her stuffed unicorn. She yawned, and hugged the plushie close and nodded her head.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she sleeps." Timmy made a stern face and Mark laughed.

"Make sure  _you_  sleep," Mark said, pinching his brother's nose. "Haechan and I are gonna head to my room, if anything happens call okay? Good night guys."

"Night," Haechan echoed, following Mark out the door. "Er, am I sleeping with you?" He asked awkwardly, as Mark gestured for him to come into the next room.

"Well, yeah, that's the whole point of a sleepover." Mark said, raising an eyebrow. "That's how they do things here too, right? Don't worry, I have extra blankets. We won't have to share." He laughed. "It's early, I have an Xbox and a Wii in my room."

" _Nice,_  really?" Haechan exclaimed, all else forgotten. "What games do you have?"

Mark chuckled as Haechan squished past him through the doorway, shutting the door until only a crack was left.

"I don't feel like zombies right now," Haechan said, immersing himself in the small box of game discs in front of a brand-new, thirty-inch television. "Hey Mark, are you rich? You have so much stuff."

Mark shrugged. "We get by with a bit of luxury."

"Hey, you have the new version of Smash Bros!" Haechan said happily, holding up a disc. "This was my childhood."

Mark laughed. "Same."

Haechan grinned, shooting him a side-ways look. "Bet I could crush you."

"Deal, winner gets the bigger blanket," Mark replied smoothly, pulling another box towards him and reaching for the Wii console.

They played for over three hours – Haechan won the first three games, then lost three in a row and promptly raged, changing his character every time for the next five games while Mark just smiled and watched his Pikachu kick ass. In the end Haechan got a neck cramp and ended up on the floor for a minute, after which Mark shut the Wii down.

"One more, winner takes all," Haechan begged.

"Nope, I win fair and square." Mark grinned smugly. He opened the closet and as he reached up to pull another quilt from the top shelf, Haechan tackled him, bowling him flat onto the bed. Laughing as the blanket followed and tangled them up, Mark emerged first and pinned Haechan under the sheets, growling playfully. "Oh you're  _on._ "

Under the sheets it was stifling hot and Haechan could barely move with Mark's weight on top. He squirmed out the side, lifting the sheets up and throwing it over in an attempt to smother Mark. Mark dodged and grabbed Haechan from the side, squishing him into the mattress, laughing as Haechan struggled underneath him.

"Okay I give up!"

"Already?" Mark straightened with a grin and Haechan rose instantly, reversing their positions and pinning Mark down by the shoulders.

"Just kidding." Haechan gloated, but then he realized Mark wasn't struggling and glanced down to see the boy staring at him dazedly. He suddenly became aware of the fact that Mark's shirt had been pulled up from the struggle and his warm, hard body was pressing against Haechan's abdomen. For a moment he was frozen, not sure how to react, and they stayed like that, awkwardly. Then he let go and turned around, sliding off the bed. "I get to shower first then." He said in an offhandedly bright voice.

"That's cheating." Mark protested as Haechan fetched his clothes from his bag.

Haechan turned and gave him a dark grin. "Who said there were rules? Don't worry, I'll try to leave you some hot water." He winked and Mark's expression eased into a smile. Then Haechan turned quickly and went into the bathroom to hide his surfacing panic.

Even so, the hot water's calming effects cleared his head and by the time Haechan was done, changed into an old soccer shirt and shorts, he had already forgotten most of what happened.

"Shower's ready." He announced, tucking his towel and old clothes carefully into his bag.

"Okay. I'm taking the left side, make yourself at home." Mark said, picking up a fresh pair of boxers on his way to the bathroom.

Haechan glanced at the clock on the bedside table, under a lamp with light blue shades. The numbers blinked 11:25 – a little earlier than he was used too, but then again, he was tired from packing and sore from yesterday's training – and three hours of sitting hadn't helped. He climbed into the right side under the thin quilt, propped the pillow up, and sat checking his cell phone. He'd neglected it for a while – there were about a dozen missed texts and a missed call from Hana. Areum had texted him asking if he wanted to go for ice cream with the cheerleaders after their game on Tuesday. Mika texted him three times – the first asking if section 5.4 in their Chemistry textbook was due, the second asking if section 5.5 was due, the third telling him never mind because she finished it anyway. One was from Mr. Park, telling him to see him at lunch on Monday because he wanted to talk about the new recruit – that meant Mark. Sighing, Haechan replied them all before checking Hana's thread.

_Good morning Haechan~_

_Oh wow it's such a nice day today, are you busy with anything?_

_~ Metrotown with Areum and Sora. You seem busy, what's up?_

_Do u have Mark's #?_

_Did u go to Mars or something? Eating at SushiTown… bumped into Jeno and Mika's twin bro, ended up eating with them. You'd think it'd be awkward but he's not that bad today._

_Going to sleep, night Haechan!_

Haechan blinked, aware that the sound of rushing water had stopped. He sent her a quick,  _Sorry, sweet dreams princess,_  then put his phone on the counter. A couple seconds later the bathroom door opened and Mark stepped out, completely naked except for a pair of dark red boxers and a towel around his shoulders.

"Did you forget your clothes?" Haechan said, grinning.

Mark gave him an odd look. "No, I sleep like this."

Haechan felt his smile disappear. "Bro, we're sharing a bed." He said slowly.

Mark gave him a quizzical smile. "Are you saying you mind? We have separate sheets." He ruffled his hair with the towel and tossed it into the laundry bin.

Haechan cast him a brief glance, then tore his eyes away and promptly turned the lamp off, throwing the room into darkness."Yeah, a little." He admitted, annoyed. "It's not even that hot."

"Really? It is to me." Mark said in bemusement, getting on the bed, and Haechan cringed as he felt the mattress shift.

"Right, Canadian boy." Haechan muttered, more to himself than anything, but Mark laughed.

"And I guess you lived here all your life?"

"Pretty much." Haechan said, closing his eyes. It became quiet and in the silence he could hear Mark breathing. It wasn't like he expected to be able to sleep or anything – besides, he was too tense to even move. It was probably his imagination, but he thought he could feel the warmth from Mark's body seep through the blankets. Then he heard Mark sighed and opened his eyes briefly, glancing at him. "Something on your mind?" He said, trying to act casual.

"Yeah." Mark stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. "I was admiring how well you deal with girls."

"Hah!" Haechan couldn't help but laugh. "It comes with time."

"Don't people laugh at you for being so friendly with them?" Mark said, sounding reluctant. "I mean, not to say I find it weird or anything –"

"Please," Haechan scoffed. "They've got nothing on me." He laughed to show he was joking, and Mark smiled hesitantly.

"You really have a lot of patience and self-control, to be able to stay next to Hana all this time."

Haechan felt himself stiffen. "Well, there's nothing I can do." He said, forcing himself to shrug.

Mark tilted his head back and sighed heavily. "If I were you, I would have grabbed her and kissed her and told her I loved her a long time ago."

"And what," Haechan laughed shakily. "She'd be like, 'I like you too, we're good friends right?' Then what?"

Mark was silent for a while, and Haechan took a trembling breath and swallowed past the tightness in his throat. He turned away, pulling the blankets up to his chin even though it was warm in the room.

"Actually, Jeno told her that I liked her already." He said finally.

"What?" There was loud rustling as Mark sat up. "What'd she say?"

"She was betrayed, so I assured her he was exaggerating, I said we were good friends and that was it." Haechan grimaced.

"Goddamnit Haechan." Mark sounded pained and Haechan turned his head.

"What're you sounding beat up for?" He said grumpily.

"It's just… really frustrating." Mark held his head in his hands and groaned. "Trying to act like friends when you want more."

Haechan eyed him warily. "Hey, when Sora asked you if you'd ever done it with a girl you didn't reply." He said, changing the topic.

Mark looked up and gave him a wry smile. "I didn't want to make a big fuss. Besides, it was none of her business."

Haechan stared at him. "Wait –" He blinked, speechless, and tried again. "You mean you actually…  _holy…._ " For a moment the image of Mark, his hard body lit with dim lamplight, holding the soft, smooth body of a young woman flashed into his mind and he shook his head to get rid of it.

"Oh come on, I did some stuff with my ex-girlfriend, but we didn't go all the way," Mark cringed. "And what's the big fuss? She was three years older than me."

"No! I'm just…" Haechan grinned. "What was it like?"

Mark gave him a look. "Are you seriously going to ask me to tell you about it?"

"Well, I'm curious," Haechan said defensively. "I haven't even  _kissed_  anyone yet."

Mark stared at him. " _Really."_

Haechan raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I'm a good boy. Just because I'm surrounded by girls doesn't mean I do what I want with them."

Mark turned away with a smirk and Haechan turned towards him, suspicious.

"Now what's with that creepy smile?"

Mark grinned and turned his face so that his lips were inches away from Haechan's mouth. He blew hot air over his lips, causing Haechan to turn a deep shade of red. Out of instinct, Haechan opened his mouth slightly.

"Nothing." Mark chuckled, leaning back on his shoulders. The summer moonlight streaming through the half-open blinds lit his shadowed body in bright slits, the dark russet of his hair turning a glittering bronze. He glanced over and for a moment his brown eyes were caught in the light. Then he smiled, and Haechan realized he'd been staring.

"Do you want me to put some clothes on?" Mark said softly, eyes darkening.

"I…It's fine." Haechan muttered, looking away but stealing another glance. "Oh by the way, Coach wants to talk to me at lunch on Monday about you. We have a game on Tuesday, it's an easy win but I have a feeling that's what it's about." He rambled, struggling to focus on something normal.  _Shit, I'm hard… what the hell, why? Was it because of earlier?_

Mark rolled over onto his stomach, closer to Haechan, who flinched away. "An easy game?" He said curiously. "What are the standings right now?"

"We've won everything in Districts so far, we have two more games including this one and then we can go to the City Showcase Tournament." Haechan explained. "But we have to beat our nemesis, that's our last game. It's the Tuesday after this one. We lost last year and ended up not being able to go to provincials." He curled his fist at the memory. "It was a close game too."

"Well, we'll win this year," Mark said, reaching his hand over. Haechan flinched, but Mark just gave him a pat on the chest.

"Yeah." Haechan sighed, turning and promptly bumping into Mark. "Oh, sorry –"

"No, it's fine," Mark said quietly, grabbing his arm tightly.

Haechan pulled his arm away. "Uh…"

Mark's blinked and sat up suddenly. "Sorry," he laughed a little nervously, ruffling his hair. "Excuse me for a sec." He slid off the mattress and went straight into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Haechan stared at the closed door for a moment, then sighed in relief and thought of spiders. His little one calmed down immediately and he rolled over onto his left shoulder, a habit he'd developed a long time ago, and tried to sleep.

It was peaceful for a couple of minutes, that he actually fell asleep – for about a couple seconds anyway, before his phone vibrated with an incoming call and he reached for it drowsily, forgetting he was in Mark's house.

"Hello?" Haechan sighed, closing his eyes again.

"Haechan? Sorry did I wake you? I didn't think you'd be asleep yet." Hana said anxiously.

"No, it's fine. I'm at… uh…" Haechan trailed off, thinking it wouldn't be the best idea to say he was sleeping over with the guy she liked without asking him about – oh yeah, he was supposed to set up a date…

"At? Are you over at Sora's house again?" Hana's voice turned a little sharp.

"No, it's nothing," Haechan assured her, about to ask her what kind of date she'd prefer when Mark walked out of the bathroom.

"Sorry – oh, sorry," Mark repeated awkwardly when Haechan turned to glance at him.

"Who was that?" Hana said curiously, and Haechan grimaced.

"It's Mark. I'm at his house. Trying to, you know… keep my promise." He lied, struggling to keep his eyes off Mark's toned body as the boy pulled open the sheets and stared at the mattress for a while.

"It's so hot." Mark sighed. "Who's calling?"

"Hana." Haechan said, at the same time she squealed.

"Oooh, can I talk to him?"

Haechan held out his phone reluctantly. "She wants to talk to you."

Mark made a face that looked like a mixture of annoyance and hurt but quickly struggled to smile as he took the phone. "Hey, Hana." He began casually. "What're you doing up so late?"

Haechan lay back down on his pillow with a heavy sigh, wondering briefly if the spaghetti had kept Mark in the bathroom – because if it had, then he was worried about his own stomach. It wasn't exactly the most resilient.

They talked for a while and he tried to tune them out, feeling pangs when he caught bits of Hana's excited voice. Then Mark turned to speak to him and he knew he couldn't pretend to be asleep because he was having a hard time wiping the frown off his face.

"Haechan she asked me to the movies. Please get me out of this, come with us." Mark whisper-begged.

Haechan stared at him, then reluctantly took the phone back. "Hey, Hana? Mark says he's not comfortable going alone, why don't I bring Sora and come along." He winked. "It'll be like a double-date."

"Why Sora?" Hana said, obviously irked. "What about Renjun and Mika? They're a legit couple, maybe it'll rub off on us."

"Don't worry," Haechan said, biting his bright words off bitterly. "Sora and I can be a way more lovey-dovey than those two, if that's what you want."

"…Well…" Hana said quietly. "I didn't mean to ask you to do anything with Sora…"

"Why not? We all know she has a crush on me." Haechan forced himself to laugh. "Well she has a crush on a dozen other boys, but we all know I'm the best."

Hana laughed hesitantly. "If… If you don't mind, then. Thanks. Can I speak to Mark again?" She asked.

Haechan gritted his teeth. "Uh, he went to the bathroom. Why don't I tell him goodnight for you? We're tired, and we want to sleep… if you get what I mean." He laughed again and Hana joined in, but it was only brief.

"Okay. Thanks Haechan! Good night."

"Sweet dreams Hana," Haechan replied softly, shutting his phone off. He stared at it for a moment, then threw it against the pillow with a frustrated growl. "Damnit!"

Mark gave him a helpless look. "Haechan, I'm sorry –"

Haechan collapsed on the pillow, grabbed his iPod from the bedside table, and plugged the earbuds in. "It's not your fault." He muttered, shutting his eyes and letting the music sweep his tortured rage away.


	7. Chapter 7

That night, he dreamed so intensely that when he woke up, his whole body was sore, his head was massively dizzy, and he had the biggest morning wood he'd ever gotten in his life. The last part he wasn't sure why – he was pretty sure his dreams were purely emotional, but he couldn't remember the details because they'd been so intense. Sunlight was streaming in powerful glowing rays through the slits in the window blinds, letting him know it was another nice day. The room was uncomfortably hot and he was sweating. His blankets had been kicked to the ground and he realized he was lying sprawled all the way across the bed. His shirt had also disappeared.

Then Haechan caught a wiff of something delicious, like roasted almonds. Curious, he pushed himself up. And realized he wasn't in his own room.

_Oh shit!_  Haechan scrambled around and realized his shirt was underneath him.  _What is this doing here?! When did it come off?!_  Then his stomach growled, and he doubled over with a groan as it cramped in longing hunger.  _Whatever…_ Rolling off the bed as usual, he crawled over to his duffle bag in the corner and dragged out a change of clothes, then headed into the bathroom for a quick morning shower.

Fifteen minutes later, Haechan headed down the stairs in khaki shorts and a white t-shirt, his hair towel-dried and sticking up everywhere and his morning erection well taken care of. Aside from the television – sounded like a kids show – it was suspiciously quiet, and Haechan stopped to peer cautiously into the kitchen.

Mark was leaning casually against the kitchen island, watching the pot of oatmeal in front of him with hazy eyes, apparently having nothing better to do. His hands were tucked in the same camouflage shorts and he was wearing a white vest hoodie. In the family room beyond, Haechan could see Pororo playing on the television and guessed their siblings were there.

Steeling himself, Haechan slipped into the kitchen. "Hey."

Mark's head jerked up like he'd been pulled from a dream. His eyes widened for a moment, like he'd forgotten Haechan was there, but then he smiled warmly. "Morning. Is oatmeal okay?"

"Sure." Haechan said, ruffling his hair self-consciously. As he sat down in one of the bar stools, he saw that the oven clock read ten-thirty.

Mark grabbed them two bowls and Haechan frowned at the second one as the red-haired boy bent back down to look for spoons.

"You haven't eaten?"

"No, I was waiting for you." Mark stood back up and placed a shiny spoon beside each bowl, then grabbed the pot and poured equal portions of oatmeal for them. "Don't worry," he added in response to Haechan's deepening frown. "I haven't been up that long. It was too hot and I couldn't go back to sleep."

"Yeah, it's getting warm." Haechan agreed off-handedly.

"Sugar?" Mark offered, holding up a jug of sugar cubes.

Haechan shook his head.

"Suit yourself." Shrugging, Mark popped several into his bowl and placed the jug back into the cupboards, then took a seat beside Haechan.

"When did Haneul wake up?" Haechan said, still feeling a little sluggish. As if on cue, he heard a spurt of laughter from the living room.

"After I came downstairs, they wandered down." Mark replied.

"Oh." Haechan said, and decided to concentrate on not burning his tongue.

After breakfast, they washed the dishes and Mark brought orange juice for their siblings. Haechan borrowed the blow dryer for a minute to dry up the rest of his hair, and while he was upstairs he packed their things back into his duffel bag. Returning downstairs, he prepared himself to suggest leaving, but the moment he walked into the kitchen, Haneul jumped up to him and gave him a hug.

"Good morning oppa!"

"Morning." Haechan said, a little warily. Haneul was rarely this sweet unless she wanted something.

Haneul looked up at him with wide brown eyes. "You're such a good brother. We should show Mark and Timmy around town!"

_So that's it._  Annoyed, Haechan nudged her forehead with his finger. "Silly, there's nothing to show."

"Yeah there is!" Haneul said indignantly, pulling away from him and crossing her arms with a pout. "We can go swimming!"

"Haneul, you don't even  _like_ swimming." Haechan pointed out irritably.

"Yes I do!" Haneul squealed indignantly, squeezing her unicorn.

Haechan sighed and opened his mouth, then sighed again and gave Mark a look.

Mark, snapping out of his daze again, gave him a smile. "Why not?"

Timmy's eyes widened and he hurriedly gulped the rest of his orange juice, gasping. " _Yes please!_ " He said excitedly. "I haven't gone swimming in  _ages!_ "

Looking helplessly at the eager faces in front of him, Haechan slumped defeatedly against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. "I have to get our swimming suits. And we'll have to walk there…"

"No problem." Mark said, patting his pocket. "Why don't you head back to your house to ask your parents and get your stuff? I'll take care of Haneul. We can meet up in front of your house."

Haechan gave him a look, then gave Haneul a look. "Are you sure?" He said skeptically.

"I'll make sure she behaves herself!" Timmy boasted, trying to flex his little arms.

Mark chuckled. "I'll take good care of her."

"Yeah," Haneul added.

Haechan bit his lip, then picked his duffel bag up and slid the strap over his shoulder. "Alright, I'll be quick. Jeez…" he shook his head. "You guys." He headed out the door, pulling it shut to the sound of their laughter.

......................

 

"Mmm, the smell of chlorine."

Haechan stopped short and gave Mark an incredulous look, but the boy just looked back and grinned.

"What? I used to work out at the pool back in Canada. It was one of the most luxurious places in town." He stopped at the end of the hall, looking between the three doors. "So uh, which one?"

"We need to go into the family change rooms." Haechan said, tugging Haneul closer to him as a middle-aged couple squeezed past them into the door in front. "You guys can go to the male change rooms if you don't mind."

"Let's go together," Timmy spoke up, grabbing Haneul's hand.

"Yeah, I might get lost." Mark laughed. "Wouldn't want to lose me, would you Haechan?"

Haechan flushed and pushed ahead. "Yeah, right…"

They were lucky – Sunday afternoons at the pool were busy, but they only had to wait about three minutes before a room became free. Once inside, Haechan busied himself helping Haneul into her bathing suit, doing his best to ignore the fact that Mark had stripped his clothes before helping Timmy tighten his swim trunks. By the time Haneul had finished fussing and was wrapped snugly in a towel, Haechan straightened to realize that everybody was ready to go but him. He blinked, surprised.

Mark smiled, a dark twinkle in his eyes. "Come on. Did you forget your trunks?"

"Please, I already changed in the house." Haechan replied nimbly, slipping his shirt over his head with one fluid motion and stuffing it into his gym bag. "Ready to go in less than a second." He bragged, telling himself that Mark's eyes weren't lingering a little too long on his body. It was soccer season, he couldn't be that out of shape…

To be honest, Haechan hadn't expected the pool to be fun at all. Because Haneul was so scared of water, whenever he went with her he ended up following her around in knee-high water, lifting her out of the wave pool whenever the waves came and watching her splash around in the baby pool. And it wasn't as though she didn't know how to float – she'd taken some beginner swimming lessons – but she simply did not like the waves. Even so, this time around he was surprised. As usual she demanded to be pulled out of the wave pool when the beeping signal warned about incoming waves, but Timmy stayed. The little boy was an awesome swimmer, despite his age – he darted about in the water like a little fish, joyfully attacking the waves head-on. Haneul watched wide-eyed from the baby pool – and twenty minutes later they were jumping around in the waves together.

"Amazing, she never believed me when I said it wasn't scary." Haechan sighed, wincing as the water slammed into him from where he was sitting in the shallow end, keeping an eye on Haneul. She'd climbed onto fake rescue boat nearby and was shooting water at everybody. He couldn't help but glance again at Timmy, a little red dot in the distance. "How old is your brother, anyway? He swims like a pro."

Mark chuckled, wiping water from his face and flipping back his bangs. "He's already eight, he's just small for his age."

Haechan looked back at Haneul. "My sister's six and she only knows how to doggy paddle. He's still really awesome." He was about to look at Mark, but thought better of it and pretended he was concentrating on his sister's safety.

"He's just energetic." Mark replied modestly. "Hey come on Haechan, I'm tired of sitting here."

Haechan chuckled, about to comment when he was pushed roughly forward. Falling on his hands and knees, he was promptly hit with a blast of chlorinated water and it took him a couple seconds to recover. Then he swiped his dripping hair out of his face and lunged at Mark, dragging the grinning boy down and locking their limbs together, drowning in the fierce waves together until a sharp whistle sounded and a lifeguard told them to stop being idiots.

As Mark sat up Haechan became aware that their skin was touching everywhere – at which point he scrambled backwards and turned away, searching frantically for Haneul even though the waves had subsided by now. Then he distinctly heard the sloshing of water as Mark stood up and turned back, but the boy was walking away already.

"I need the bathroom." He called apologetically over his shoulder, hands in the pockets of his swim trunks. "Watch Timmy for me alright?"

"O-Okay." Haechan said, too surprised to be over thinking it.

...........................

 

Mark returned after five minutes and they stayed at the pool for another hour before Haneul started complaining that her skin was getting wrinkly. They waited fifteen minutes before a family change room became available, and by then it was nearly two o'clock and Haechan was too hungry to care about getting naked in front of Mark. Timmy and Mark showered first, and Haechan helped Haneul out of her swimming suit while they were waiting. Deciding it would be more convenient, he stripped too and packed up all their wet stuff, wrapping a towel around his waist just before Timmy and Mark came out.

"Your turn." Timmy chirped, heading over and rummaging their bag in search of clothes.

"Thanks." Haechan turned respectfully away from Mark, wishing the boy had thought to bring a towel with him, and carried Haneul around to the shower. They took a little longer because he had to wash Haneul's hair or it'd become dry and knot, but within fifteen minutes they were packed up and out on the streets in search of food.

Mark had been thought to bring a soccer ball, so they headed up to the park across from their school, where they ate lunch at a Japadog stand. Then, out of habit, Haechan led them to the soccer field at the center of the track where he usually trained with the district team, and they played there for a good couple hours. They teamed up with their siblings and took turns being on defense – kicking being one of the only things Haneul was good at. Then, when the little kids were tired, Haechan and Mark had a go at each other. They ended up wrestling more than kicking the ball, even though Haechan wasn't a wrestling kind of guy. For some reason, it just felt natural to be pinning each other to the ground.

By five-thirty they were so hot and sweaty that they couldn't go on. They cooled down at the spray park, then watched their siblings romp at the playground for another hour before Haechan stood up and announced that he wanted dinner. They took a five-minute bus to a nearby Red Robins, where Mark received lots of attention, then returned to the park where they sat by the lake to cool off and watch the darkening sky.

"I've never stayed out so long with Haneul before." Haechan said wearily, sitting back against the bench. It was situated on the quiet side of the lake, facing the sunset. "My parents must be having the weekend of their lives." Haneul and Timmy were plucking flowers and coaxing ducks towards them near the grassy shore, and Mark was sitting beside him. The only thing between them was the soccer ball.

" _I'm_  having the weekend of my life."

Haechan glanced over to see Mark smiling softly into the distance, the sunset warming his golden skin and turning his hair to dark flames. Mark noticed and looked back, smile broadening. Haechan couldn't help but turn his gaze off to the side a little.

"Yeah, it was fun." His cheeks felt embarrassingly warm.

Mark chuckled, and Haechan felt his face flush deepen. "It's never like this in Canada…" He placed his hand on the soccer ball as he gazed at the sun's reflection on the lake, his finger tips millimeters from Haechan's arm. "Today made me really glad that I came here."

Haechan glanced back and was promptly captivated by Mark's eyes, turned a hazy blend of brown and hazel in the burning light. Mark's lips were slightly parted, smiling slightly at the ends.

"…Thanks, Haechan…"

Something brushed his arm. Haechan swallowed. Mark's lips… looked soft…

"…Haechan…?"

"Oppa!" Haneul's squeal pierced his head painfully and Haechan blinked, startled to find himself leaning towards Mark. Shocked, he got off the bench and opened his arms for his sister just in time, grimacing as Haneul leapt into his arms and buried her face in his thigh.

"I'm tired, I want to go home!"

"Aw," Timmy trailed behind in protest. "But I want to play…" He trailed off with a yawn.

"Sure, we're neighbors, we can always visit each other." Mark's voice was bright, but when Haechan glanced over he could see a troubled expression on the boy's handsome face. It was rare for Mark to look bothered – but then again, bothered was an understatement. For Haechan, he was inutter  _horror_  and confusion.  _What_  had just happened? What  _would_ have happened if Haneul hadn't interrupted? He tried to imagine it and mentally freaked out, not realizing that it showed on his face until Haneul gave him an odd look.

"Haechan you look funny."

"I know I do, I'm a funny guy." Haechan replied dazedly, grabbing her hand. "Come on, let's go home."

"Yeah," Mark said detachedly, stuffing the soccer ball into his bag before following after them, calling for Timmy to stop running.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh God, I'm such a sucker for fluffy ^^ xD   
> In the next chapters they going back to school ...and you guys can expect to begin of drama :)


	8. Chapter 8

"Wow, you're early today."

Haechan lifted his head up from his desk, blinking blearily. As the haze in front of him cleared, he saw Mark's smiling face. Something warm blossomed in his chest and he sat up, awake now. "It's the big day." He sighed.

Mark chuckled and gave Haechan a pat on the shoulder. His hand lingered on Haechan's skin, where the boy's loose shirt had been pulled to the side, and Haechan felt himself grow warm for an entirely different reason.

"We can do it." Mark murmured, taking his seat next to Haechan.

"Of course we can," Haechan replied, glancing over to the door as Hana walked in. "If we win this, we're pretty much guaranteed a spot in provincials. The other teams are easy."

"Morning Mark!" Hana said brightly as she took a seat in front of Haechan, flipping her skirt out.

"Morning," Mark said distractedly, giving her a brief smile before turning back to Haechan. "We only have one more game after this, right? Next Tuesday?"

"Yeah," Haechan replied, glancing to his left as he felt somebody tug the sleeve of his t-shirt. "What's up, princess?" He asked Hana, who was giving him a pouting sort of look.

"Did you finish your chemistry homework?" She gave him an odd look, like she was expecting him to answer a certain way.

"Of course," Haechan said, wondering if that was what she'd hoped for.

"Oh yeah," Mark said suddenly, reaching into his backpack. "I forgot! I was so excited for today's match." He said sheepishly, rummaging through his pencil case for something to write with.

"You can borrow mine," Haechan offered, realizing a second too late that Hana had taken out her notebook too.

"Thanks… Capta-chan." Mark grinned at him and Haechan felt his lips twitch into an embarrassed smile.

"I _told_ you not to call me that." He said, unable to thoroughly enjoy his laugh as he was aware of Hana frowning beside him.

Since they had arrived five minutes early, Mark managed to finish transcribing their homework before their pop quiz on Hamlet started. Haechan, having completely neglected their reading assignments, wrote nonsense for every single question and finally handed in his quiz forty minutes later, eight minutes after everybody else was finished. Mrs. Park gave him that look of dislike again and he smiled back at her – then she pursed her lips and turned around to continue yesterday's lecture.

At nine o'clock Haechan couldn't wait to get out of his seat – Chemistry was one of the only classes he had with Mark – but as he was following the boy out the door, he felt somebody grab his arm.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" It was Hana, speaking in a low voice, her brown eyes glistening with rare seriousness.

Haechan raised his eyebrow and looked at Mark – the boy glanced back, then lifted his arm to indicate that he understood and kept walking. Pulling Hana to the side, Haechan leaned against the wall and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, sure. What's up?" He frowned, concerned, but half expecting what she was going to say anyway.

"You and Mark…"

 _Thought so._ Haechan sighed and braced himself.

"…Aren't you supposed to be helping me get close to him?" Hana said, sounding hesitant.

"Yeah… well, I'm trying…" Haechan said doggedly. "But I gotta be friends with him first, don't I?"

"I know, but," Hana scrunched up her face, looking pained. "He was so hung up on the game that he even canceled the movie with me! You're always getting in the way now."

Haechan felt his mind reel for a second and he blinked at her in shock. "Excuse me?" He said incredulously.

Hana bit her lip, avoiding his gaze. "Mark's more interested in you than he is in me. I'm not a guy, and I don't play soccer, I don't understand what you guys are talking about. Can't you just… leave us alone sometimes?"

"You're saying –" Haechan broke off, forcing himself to take a deep breath. _Now you're blaming me for sacrificing myself to get you what you want?_ "Look," he said slowly, feeling his fists curl in his pockets. "Don't you think it's a little weird that you're getting jealous? I'm a guy, Hana, it shouldn't matter if I get close to Mark, he won't date me anyway." Haechan blinked, wondering why it felt like he was lying.

"But I don't have any chances to talk to him because he wants to talk to you," Hana complained. "Can't you give him a break?"

" _I'm_ not the one starting conversations with him, Hana." Haechan snapped, regretting his tone a second later when Hana's eyes narrowed.

"Fine! I was just _asking._ " She retorted spinning and walking quickly down the hall.

 

* * *

 

Mark's dark eyes were anxious as he met Haechan's look from across the room. Grimacing, Haechan skirted the edge of the classroom and took his seat next to the boy at the back, scavenging for his notebook even though he didn't feel like taking notes.

"What happened?" Mark murmured, glancing briefly at the whiteboard to copy Mr. Kim's diagram before turning his blazing gaze back to Haechan. "You don't look so happy…"

"Oh, it was nothing," Haechan lied. "I copied my chemistry homework from her so she was mad that I let you copy it without giving her credit." He chuckled. "She's got a point, I mean, she did all the work."

"Oh dang, I'm sorry." Mark said, looking genuinely sympathetic. "Seems like I'm always messing you guys up."

"No, what are you talking about?" Haechan laughed and gave him a shove, searching for a quick subject change. "Hey, can I borrow your notes later?"

"Huh?" Mark looked down, like he'd forgotten that he had taken notes. "Uh, yeah, sure." He paused, then his face blossomed into a smile.

Haechan shifted away, giving him a mock look of caution. "What's with the grin?"

Mark closed his eyes and his smile broadened as he shook his head. "Nothing." He said mysteriously and turned his concentration back to the lesson.

 

* * *

 

Why did he lie? Haechan puzzled over it the whole rest of the day. It really wasn't been a big deal – Mark knew that Hana had asked him to set them up. So why hadn't he wanted to repeat what Hana had said? _I'm getting in the way? Yeah right – I'm not even doing anything._ Haechan scoffed, earning himself a couple weird looks as he hopped down the stairs to the change rooms.

He turned the corner of the hall to see Mika and Renjun in a full-blown make-out session – pretending he didn't see anything, Haechan averted his gaze and sidled awkwardly into the boys change room. If they were going to make out, they could at least find a better spot…

"Captain!" A couple boys bellowed when they saw him, dropping their shirts and lunging at him. Haechan dodged and laughed as he was grabbed and slammed into the lockers, dropping his bag on the floor and holding his hands up in surrender.

"We're gonna win this, right?" Mika's twin brother, Chenle, a cute blond boy, gave Haechan a dark grin as he released the boy's shoulders.

Haechan pushed himself off the lockers and stretched his arm. "Of course." He replied smoothly. "We've got an ace this year, don't we, Mark?" He slid a side-ways glance at the red-haired boy, who was changing in the corner.

Mark looked up and pulled his shirt down, smiling briefly. "Thanks, Captain." He said.

 _He's quiet._ Haechan noticed. Picking his bag back off the ground, Haechan made his way across the change room, giving encouraging pats to his teammates as he passed. Then he dropped his bag on the bench beside Mark and pulled off his shirt.

"What's up?" Haechan asked, untangling his shirt from his shorts.

"Oh… just a little nervous." Mark chuckled, blinking and ruffling his own hair. "We never much pressure up there. We didn't expect to win."

"Don't worry," Haechan grinned and ruffled Mark's hair, smile broadening as the teen ducked out of the way. "We make a good team, remember?"

Mark sighed and looked up with a smile, eyes brimming with odd emotion. "Yeah. Thanks, Haechan."

Feeling a little strange, Haechan shrugged and finished changing, tightening the hem of his shorts. "No problem, that's what a captain's supposed to do." He stuffed his bag in one of the lockers, then turned and hopped onto the bench, accessing the room. Most of them were done changing – Jeno had sidled in a little late and was artfully avoiding his gaze by pulling his shirt over his head.

"What's up, Captain?" Jisung, a tenth-grader from their district club, put his hands on his hips and grinned up at him. "You gonna give us a speech or what?"

"Are you saying you need one?" Haechan raised an eyebrow.

"Then what're you doing up there?" Chenle's smirk grew wider. "Come on guys, don't you want to hear Haechan give a speech?"

"You know I’m not exactly good at this." Haechan said in dismay, grimacing as Chenle started up a chant. Sighing, Haechan shook his head and waved his arms to quiet them down. "Alright, alright! Jeez, you guys are in high spirits today…" He laughed a little nervously, then cleared his throat. "Okay, um…" He paused, looking around at the bright eyes shining up at him, and eventually searched out Mark's gaze near the back of the crowd. The long and inspirational speech that he'd had in mind suddenly became stuck in his throat as Mark gave him a smile, and there was a tense silence as Haechan struggled to speak, but despite all his efforts, he'd forgotten everything he'd planned to say. Instead, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Guys, I love you. We're a good team. We're gonna win."

Chenle's snicker turned into a gloating hoot and he jumped up onto the bench, grabbing Haechan and pulling him into a hug that quickly turned into a mass of bodies. "That was the greatest speech I've ever heard!" He laughed, and Haechan smiled hesitantly, unable to tell if it was sarcasm or not.

"Alright, let's roll out!" Haechan shouted, shoving the rest of them away from him. He turned to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything and promptly collided into someone – about to snap, he looked up and froze when he realized it was Mark.

"Sorry." But Mark was smiling, and he grabbed Haechan's arm as the boy turned back. "Wait."

"What?" Haechan muttered, keeping his face turned. From the way it was burning, he reckoned he was somewhere near bright red.

"I just wanted to say thanks…" Mark said softly, squeezing his arm briefly before letting go. "I'll make sure you have no regrets."

 _No regrets, huh…_ "You're welcome." Haechan said, taking a deep breath as he and Mark headed out to join the others.

 

* * *

 

Haechan spotted Na Jaemin immediately. Standing in front of his team, in his red and white soccer jersey, his pretty brown hair ruffled sideways in the wind and his frown just as lopsided. He shouted something at a couple boys who were chatting instead of stretching, then turned around and caught Haechan's eye.

"Oh, jeez." Haechan muttered under his breath, noticing Hana and her group of girls entering the track from the corner of his eye. He glanced briefly back at Jaemin and saw the teen's eyes narrow on the girls.

"Er, are we going to warm up?"

Haechan looked up, momentarily startled. He'd forgotten that Mark was still beside him – the rest of his team had been sent on a couple slow laps. He'd been tying his shoe at the edge of the field when he saw Jaemin and forgot that he was supposed to be running.

"Haechan, what's the dawdling about?" Coach Park shouted at him from the stone bleachers on the west side of the field.

"Sorry!" Haechan replied, glancing back again at Jaemin. The boy was wearing an insufferable smirk, and Haechan clenched his fists as he finished up tying his shoe and ran after Mark.

"That guy that you were staring at, who is he?" Mark asked tentatively, as they fell into a comfortable stride.

"Oh, you noticed?" Haechan said dryly. "He's a forward on the district team. He's their captain."

"He's your teammate then… how come it doesn't feel like it?" Mark smiled a little sheepishly. "Sorry if I'm prying –"

"It's no big deal, everybody knows." Haechan interrupted, a little annoyed. "We went to the same middle school, we were good friends." He shrugged. "He was Hana's first boyfriend."

"Ah." Mark fell quiet. "I see."

"Well I don't hold it against him," Haechan said quickly, not wanting to sound jealous. "He's good… like, _really_ good. Most of the district players came to our school, but he trained up a lot of casual players and made a decent team out of them. He's strict, and their team is well disciplined. I respect him for that."

Mark chuckled. "Haechan, you're a good captain."

Haechan flushed. "That's not what I was trying to say, idiot." He snapped, running ahead only to slow when he saw Jaemin wave at him and step onto the track.

"Hey Haechan." The boy grinned, hazel eyes glittering in the sun as he raised a hand in friendly gesture.

"Jaemin," Haechan stopped reluctantly and Mark stopped behind him.

"Hi." Mark offered.

Jaemin tilted his head at Mark. Haechan grimaced.

_You're too friendly for your own good…_

"Who's this? New guy?" Jaemin looked him up and down. "Looks your type, Haechan."

"Knock it off," Haechan said wryly, aware that Mark's eyes had widened.

"What?" Jaemin laughed. "I'm only telling the truth. Your team is more pretty boys than anything."

"You're one to talk," Haechan raised his eyebrow at Jaemin. He didn't want to admit it, but the boy was gorgeous, with a lean body, shine brown eyes and charming smile.

Jaemin just smiled. "I saw Hana. She's still hanging around you, huh?"

Haechan just shrugged. "I'm not forcing her to." He said pointedly, gazing right into the boy's eyes. "Besides, she's with her friends."

Jaemin's smile faded as he gritted his teeth. "Playing the prince as always, aren't you?"

Haechan felt his lips twitch into a small smile despite himself, but before he could say anything Jaemin gave Mark a smirk.

"You better watch out big guy. Haechan's not as good of a friend as he pretends to be."

He felt Mark tense beside him and shot the boy an odd look. It wasn't like Mark to get worked up so fast, especially over something a stranger said.

"Let it go, Jaemin. Hana and I are just friends. She wasn't cheating on you or anything."

"I can't believe you still say that," Jaemin crossed his arms, a dark flicker in his eyes. "She clings to you even when she's already got a boyfriend. Haven't you ever thought that maybe you're the reason why she can never stay with anyone long?"

"In case you don't remember," Haechan snapped, finally unable to contain his irritation, " _Hana_ broke up with _you._ "

"You –!" Jaemin took a step towards him and Haechan tensed, ready to face the boy, but somebody pulled him back.

"Let's go," Mark said in a low voice, avoiding Jaemin's triumphant grin as Haechan turned and jogged back to their team, fuming.

"We _have_ to win." Haechan muttered, clenching his fists.

"Relax," Mark sighed. "I don't like him either, but… for you guys to become like that over a girl…" He trailed off, and Haechan realized that the teen's handsome face was shadowed.

Calming, Haechan grabbed Mark's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "You're right, but don't worry." He pushed a smile onto his face. "Today, we're going to win, and we'll show him that our team isn't just good-looking." He made a face. "Got it?"

Mark laughed and straightened, nodding. "Yessir."


	9. Chapter 9

"Hey, what's up?" Sora grinned as she climbed up the stone steps, joining Hana, Areum, and Mika on the bleachers. It was a little windy, but it was warm enough for her to just wear her cheerleading skirt. "How are they doing?" She sat down beside Hana and glanced at the field and immediately spotted Mark's red hair – the boy had possession of the ball and was running down the edge of the field, Haechan running ahead of him, their checks following close behind.

"They're on _fire._ " Areum giggled, sounding obviously pleased.

"Mark and Haechan play well together." Mika agreed. "Everybody else is pumped up because of their flawless strategy. Even Jaemin can't do much, now that we finally have a strong offense."

"Ew, _that_ guy is still here?" Sora sighed, shooting Hana a glance. But the girl seemed completely fixated on the game. "What's the score?"

"Two-one for us." Mika said, a smug tone to her voice.

"Last year they lost though," Areum said, bewildered. "How come?"

"We didn't have a strong offense," Mika explained, pushing up her glasses as her brown eyes gleamed knowingly. "They have a weaker defense than we do, but with only Haechan, we couldn't get any goals. We were forced to defend ninety percent of the time, and in the end, Jaemin scored the tiebreaker. Three-two, or something like that."

"Ahh," Areum said in understanding, turning back to the game and promptly gasped as the whistle screeched. "Wow, did you see that?"

Sora glanced at the field and saw Mark and Renjun pulling a bunch of red-shirt guys away. Haechan wormed out from the middle and brushed the rubber field bits off his shirt. Coach Park, standing by the edge of the field, had stood up and was looking tense.

A couple blue-shirt boys came up to Haechan but he shook his head. The ref signaled for the ball, then waved at the opposition team to move aside and let Haechan stand in the center of the field to face the goalie.

"That was like, a tackle!" Areum said in awe. "I wonder if he's okay?"

"He's fine," Sora scoffed. "He's tough. Right, Hana?" She nudged the girl, smirking when Hana's face turned a little red. "Hey, you're quiet today."

"I'm concentrating." Hana said crossly.

"Mmm, look at all these hot boys." Sora agreed, turning her attention back to the field. Haechan had scored and they had resumed play.

The other team had stepped it up after the foul – Jaemin had switched to defense and was intercepting the ball every couple seconds, only to have it stolen back by Haechan. They continued like that for a long while, neither side gaining much ground. With ten minutes left in the first round, Mika had gone back to her homework, looking unconcerned, and Sora let out a loud yawn. She closed her eyes and was enjoying the sun breeze when the whistle screamed again and Areum squeaked loudly.

"Omygosh!"

"What?" Sora snapped back to attention and searched the field, noticing nothing in particular until she spotted Mark running to a boy that had fallen on the ground. "What happened?" She said, bewildered as she recognized Haechan.

"He fell," Mika said with a frown, brows furrowed in apparent confusion.

"I can see that," Sora said dryly. "Hey Hana, what happened?"

"I… I don't know," Hana stammered. "Haechan was passing the ball to Mark as he was being checked, and then he just… tripped, or something."

"Why isn't he getting up?" Areum said worriedly, hugging her bag. Haechan had gotten on his hands and knees but that was it.

Sora looked around and saw Coach Park walk onto the field. "Shit, must be serious."

"It's a foul – he was pushed." Mika said suddenly, reading the referee's gestures. Jaemin was standing near his goalie, looking a little too delighted for the occasion.

"But how, Jaemin was checking Mark!" Hana said defensively, and they all turned to her in surprise.

"It wasn't Jaemin, obviously, but he's got cronies." Sora rolled her eyes. "Guys, I'm going down to get a better look." She stood up, lifted her bag over her shoulder, and headed rapidly down the stone steps.

 

* * *

"I said I'm _fine,_ " Haechan snapped for the fiftieth time, slapping Mark's hand away as he struggled to regain his breath. His head was spinning and his ankle burned, but it wasn't serious.

"You can't even stand up!" Mark protested, leaning forward again.

Haechan shoved him away with a snarl. "If you'd give me some room then I'd _try_." He said fiercely, pissed at his bad luck. He'd been pushed, not like he wasn't used to being pushed or anything, but he'd been pushed _hard,_ and he'd slipped over the ball.

"Alright," Mark said reluctantly, taking a step back.

Taking a deep breath, Haechan pushed himself up on one foot. He touched his injured foot gingerly to the ground and felt jagged pain shoot through his leg. "Ow, shit!" Swearing, Haechan hopped around on one foot and grabbed the closest thing – Mark's shoulders – as he recovered his breathing.

"Haechan…" Mark's voice trembled, and briefly Haechan wondered why the boy sounded pained. It wasn't like _he_ got hurt.

"Haechan, you can't play like this." Coach Park's deep voice sounded from somewhere behind them and Haechan pushed Mark away, hopping around to face his coach with a dark face.

"Just give me a second to recover!" He said indignantly. "It's not a serious sprain."

Coach Park shook his head. "Haechan, you can't do it and you know it."

"Let me take the foul shot," Haechan insisted, aware of Jaemin smirking in the distance. He gritted his teeth. "I'll show you I can do it."

"Don't waste the goal, give it to Mark." Coach Park snapped.

"Haechan," Mark pleaded. "Leave it to me."

"If I score, you keep me on." Haechan said breathily, stabbing his thumb into Coach Park's chest. "I'm Captain. The team needs me."

Coach Park's angry expression flickered, and he closed his eyes with a bemused sigh. "You're always being stupid like this, Haechan. I wonder if that's why I made you captain."

At that, Haechan felt a chuckle escape his lips. "Thanks, Coach."

Wincing, he hopped a bit then limped his way over to the referee, who had already set up the foul. Jaemin had one excellent player – a goalie who had joined the district team after one year on the team. Although he wasn't up to Jeno's level because he was a mid-fielder, not a goalie, he was still decent. Taking a breath, he picked a corner of the goal and concentrated. He took a step, kicked – and fell to the ground in agony.

"God _damnit!_ " Haechan blinked as the sparkles in his vision cleared. _Wrong foot!_

"You okay?" This time Renjun helped him up, and Mark approached him hesitantly.

"Yeah," Haechan grimaced, hopping forward on one foot. "Okay, okay, bring a substitute for me." He flinched as Coach Park closed his eyes in a frustrated expression. "Sorry Coach."

"It's fine." Coach Park said tightly. "Have a seat. Mark, sub Chenle for mid. Chenle, you play forward. Jisung, get Haechan some ice."

"Sorry, guys." Haechan called, as Mark took over and helped him hop over to the track.

"You gonna be okay?" Mark asked, dark eyes gazing anxiously at him as he helped Haechan sit.

"It's just a sprain, I'm totally fine." Haechan said irritably, glad that his face was already red from all the running. "Go back and win. I'm counting on you." He said gruffly, avoiding Mark's penetrating gaze.

"Leave it to me." Mark murmured, and for a second he leaned forward. Haechan tensed, mind shooting off in all different directions as Mark hesitated. In that split second he could feel Mark's warm breath from his parted, moist lips, the droplets of sweat rolling down his nose as his eyes narrowed, cheeks flushed from exertion, the strong scent of deodorant, sweat, and Mint Essence shampoo flooding Haechan's senses. Then Mark bit his lip and pulled back. He stood up, nodded, and ran back to the field, shouting at the defense to pay attention as Jaemin took possession of the ball. Haechan, his heart pounding, stared at the tiny stain on his shirt where Mark's sweat had dripped.

 

* * *

Their game had been split into two rounds, forty-five minutes each, with a ten minute break in between. By the end of the first round, Jaemin had brought the score up three-two. Renjun then got possession and sprinted for the goal with Mark, but the whistle sounded and they were forced to give up the ball as the first round ended.

"Jeez, I hate sitting here doing nothing!" Haechan complained, raising his hand to high-five his teammates as they streamed past him wearily. He gave Renjun a nod and the boy returned with a sweaty smile, then turned his gaze distractedly to where Mika was seated in the bleachers. Haechan followed Renjun's look and smiled inwardly, then turned back and promptly received a high-five from Mark. Except Mark didn't let go of his hand.

"Sorry." Mark doubled over, panting, his fingers still twined with Haechan's.

"The point of a high-five is to make a loud sound," Haechan hinted, trying to pull his hand away. "You okay?"

"Not really." Mark huffed as he straightened, letting go of Haechan's hand and bending over the bleacher to grab his towel and water bottle. "I let him even the score."

"Relax," Haechan chuckled. "You're doing your best. Let the team help you."

"But I'm so _angry._ " Mark said with difficulty, lifting his hand like he was about to make some sort of gesture. Instead, he seemed to end up confusing himself and took another gulp of water instead. "The guy who tripped you – I wanted to punch him."

"I did too, I did too." Haechan said airily, patting Mark gingerly on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we're still ahead." Instinctively, he glanced at the red team, on the other side of the bleachers. They were in a crowd and Jaemin was pointing at things on the bench. _Is he come up with a strategy? Let's hope it doesn't work._

"Captain, we missed you out there." Haechan turned distractedly as he heard a gruff voice and saw Jeno coming up to them, his shirt pulled up as he wiped his towel against his abdomen.

"Sorry man," Haechan smiled wryly and gave him a fist pump. "I miss being out there too. You did a good job."

Jeno shrugged. "Jaemin is planning something." He jerked his head.

"I know, I saw."

"Better watch out, Mark." Jeno nodded at the red-haired boy. "He might have told them to take you out next."

Mark broke out into a grin. "Let them try."

"Jaemin won't do that." Haechan shook his head. _Not with Hana watching, anyway._

"You never know." Jeno said grimly. "He wants to win, and he knows he won't if he plays fair."

"Heads," Mark called, and Jeno ducked as a water bottle flew over his head.

"Sorry," Chenle laughed once Renjun had caught the water bottle. "I misjudged your height."

"Little brat…" Jeno growled, leaving them to join Chenle.

"Break's almost over." Haechan said, checking his watch. He brushed his bangs to the side and glanced up at Mark, who was staring dazedly out at the field. Gathering his courage, he lifted an arm and flung it around the boy's shoulder, making Mark jump a little. "I'm counting on you." He said softly, watching Mark's reaction.

Mark stared at him for a moment, then smiled sheepishly and looked back at the field. "I know."

They sat like that for a while, listening to their calming heartbeat, enjoying the moment of peace. Then the break was over and Mark stood up, giving him a smile before he headed back to the field. Haechan shivered and turned to search for his track jacket, suddenly cold without Mark's warmth beside him.

 

* * *

Within the first minute, Jaemin scored. He took the ball and streaked down the field with the help of his goalie, who they had switched onto the field, slamming the ball into the corner of the net and leaving the rest of them in jumbles. For the next five minutes their midfield and defense scrambled around chasing Jaemin, his ex-goalie, and one of his good midfielders. Jeno saved three close goals, and but by the fourth attempt, he was already on the ground with no way of catching Jaemin's well-aimed kick.

"They need to go on defense!" Haechan growled, biting the collar of his track jacket and fidgeting as he watched Jisung lose possession of the ball to Jaemin. "Why are Mark and Renjun still hanging around the goal? Are they scared because of what happened last year? Damn!" He wailed, flailing around until the ice fell off his ankle.

"Calm down," Coach Park said, pressing his knuckle to his lips as he looked out at the field, stressed. He flinched visibly as Jeno barely saved a goal, skidding in the rubber turf as he dove. Getting back to his feet, Jeno shouted across the field.

"Mark, get your ass back here! Check Jaemin!"

Haechan sighed in relief as Mark ran back, receiving the ball from Jeno. He passed it to Renjun, then kept Jaemin in check as Renjun and Chenle brought the ball to the opposite end of the field, managing a lucky goal. With that settled, the game slowed. With Mark checking Jaemin, there was very little progress – for about fifteen minutes the ball went back and forth, not getting close to either goals. Haechan would have fallen asleep if not for the fact that they were tied four-four. They wouldn't survive if they stayed on defense, but they wouldn't survive if Jaemin was allowed to free reign on offense. It was up to the other players now – Mark and Jaemin were too busy canceling each other out.

Then Chenle had a slip. His attempt to intercept a ball, but ended up kicking it out, and his check threw the ball back in to Jaemin. Mark was on him immediately and the two dueled it out for almost a minute. Then, just as Mark slipped the ball away, Jaemin stumbled backwards, holding his face, and the referee blew his whistle.

"What happened?" Haechan demanded, biting his jacket zipper now and pulling it up.

"Hold on," Coach Park said irritably, heading out onto the field.

Getting to his feet, Haechan abandoned the ice pack and limped hurriedly after him. "What happened?" He demanded, coming up to the referee.

"He scratched me," Jaemin panted, clutching the right side of his face as his pretty face grimaced. "It got my eye."

"Free kick for the visiting team." The referee said with a blow of his whistle.

"You lying bastard!" Haechan snarled, jumping at Jaemin and grabbing him by the front of his shirt. "Mark would _never_ do that –" He heard a loud whistle and somebody pulled him off – hopping backwards on his good leg, he glared at Jaemin's smug face. "He's _lying!_ "

"Haechan, calm down." Coach Park said in a low voice, dragging him back. "The referee made his choice."

Haechan swore loudly, turning his gaze to Mark. "You didn't do it!"

Mark shook his head helplessly. "No, I didn't."

"Then tell him!"

" _Haechan,_ " Coach Park hissed. "Your team is looking at you."

"Shit!" Haechan swallowed hard as Jaemin made an impossibly good kick into the corner of the net, then turned and gave his coach a pleading look. "Let me back on!"

"You're going to destroy yourself. There's a limit to how heroic you can get." Coach Park snapped, though his eyes flickered uncertainly.

"There's less than five minutes left." Haechan said, grabbing Coach Park's shirt. "Please!"

"Haechan…" Coach Park sighed. "Do what you want."

"Yes!" Haechan limped up to the edge of the field just as one of Jaemin's players kicked the ball out. "Jisung, switch with me!" He shouted, running in.

"Are you crazy?" Jeno hollered at him, but as soon as he had touched the turf the pain disappeared. Sprinting up to Jaemin, Haechan stole the ball away from behind and passed it to Chenle, who got checked after a short distance and kicked it towards Renjun. Jaemin intercepted the ball, kicking it towards his own goal and doubling back, only to have Renjun take it back. At this point, Haechan was jogging towards the opposing goal, where Mark was checking someone nearby. When he turned back to look however, he saw Renjun getting teamed by three players, stuck near the sidelines, with Chenle being closely checked behind him. Groaning, he started hopping back, but Mark beat him to it. For half a minute the ball was completely surrounded by blue and red shirts – then Mark emerged with the ball, looking a little bruised. He tore down the field and passed to Haechan, the two of them falling into natural sync as they brought the ball down, Renjun and Chenle taking care of Jaemin behind them.

"Pass!" Haechan shouted, running to the side of the goal. He received the ball, faked one of his checks, then passed it back to Mark who had positioned himself at the front of the goal. "Shoot!"

"Watch Jaemin!" Renjun cried from somewhere behind them.

"Ah, damn. Back!" Haechan said as Jaemin escaped his checks and shot straight for Mark. Mark punted the ball towards him and Haechan ran forward to take the shot – but as he took the last jump forward a sharp pain split through the left side of his body. In that second before he fell, he felt time slow and saw the ball roll away – then Mark appeared and slammed the ball straight into the net, tripping over Haechan and falling over him as the whistle echoed over the field.

"Goal! Home team wins!"

The referee's voice suddenly sounded very far away when Haechan found himself inches from the red-haired boy. He held his breath, feeling his heartbeat thud in his head as his gaze fell on Mark's brown eyes. Mark's body was radiating heat, and as Mark leaned closer Haechan grabbed his arm shivered, tilting his head back.

"Mark…"

"Captain, we won! We won!"

Chenle's bright cheer tore through him like a blade and Haechan shoved Mark away, scrambling to his feet.

"Whoah, whoah…" He stammered, limping backwards on his throbbing ankle. Briefly, he saw something pained flash through Mark's eyes, but his mind was spinning too hard to comprehend it.

_ I'm a guy. He's a guy. We're… we're both guys. _ __ Haechan blinked as he felt hands reach over.

"Hey, I'll carry him." Someone said, and the next thing he knew he was getting a piggy-back ride from Jeno.

"I'm fine," Haechan laughed, surprised but pleased as he saw the team following closely, faces flushed and eyes bright. "Hey, guys!" He shouted at them. "Who's ready for the party?"

Chenle hooted, starting up another cheer, and Haechan grinned, forgetting the pain in his ankle as his chest filled with warmth.

* * *

Sora sighed, swishing her straw around as she searched for mango bits at the bottom of her drink. "That good-for-nothing Haechan, he promised he'd come drink with us after." She glanced to her right, where Hana was sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with Mark, looking thoroughly content. "Look who showed up instead."

Mark, who had been in another one of his dazes, blinked and gave her a sheepish sort of look. "Oh, sorry."

"What are you saying, dummy?" Hana giggled, leaning her head on his shoulder for a moment. "I'm glad you came."

"We couldn't get the thirty percent discount, though." Areum sighed, sipping her green tea drink. "Mika went with Renjun to their team celebration, or whatever."

"Why didn't you go?" Sora raised an eyebrow at Mark, taking in all his confused hotness and feeling a small smile come to her face. "Did you fight with your boyfriend?"

Hana straightened a little, looking offended. " _Sora,_ I wish you'd stop saying stuff like that."

"Relax, I'm just being friendly." Sora sighed, looking away. "Stop taking things so seriously, Hana."

"No, I just felt like coming to see you guys." Mark replied instead, sounding honest.

"Aw," Areum smirked, her eyes flickering to Hana.

"We're really happy to hear that, thanks, Mark." Hana said, shooting Areum a warning look.

Feeling irritated all of a sudden, Sora glanced out the window and felt her mouth open in surprise as the door to the café opened. "Hey, _guys._ Look who's here."

Jaemin, changed into a pair of cargo shorts and a t-shirt, stopped in the doorway when he saw them. His eyes widened a little, then fell on Hana and Mark, and his lips thinned. Sora raised an eyebrow, wondering if he'd have the guts to come over – and found herself with a pleased grin on her face as Jaemin headed for them, a sheepish sort of smile on his face.

"Hey. I didn't know _you_ were the one with Hana now." Jaemin said, greeting Mark with a small nod of his head. "No wonder you reacted like that when I tried to warn you about Haechan."

"Straight to the point, aren't you?" Sora purred, eyeing the boy in pleasure. Every time she saw him, he seemed to get better looking. She waited for Mark to deny it, but neither of them said anything.

"Good game today," Mark said, his voice uncharacteristically curt.

"It wasn't, and you know it." Jaemin smiled and shook his head. "Sorry, Mark. But I really did have turf in my eyes, you know?" He winked, then sighed and fished his pockets for change. "I actually _am_ sorry, though. I hadn't told anybody to push Haechan, if that's what you guys were thinking. He's my teammate, in the end – I would never hurt him."

"I can see why you and Haechan used to be friends, you little fox." Areum said tartly, giving him a look of strong dislike. "It doesn't change the fact that you cheated."

Jaemin's face fell into an attractively pained smile. "I wanted to win fair and square, honest. Look, I'm really sorry."

"It's fine." Hana spoke up finally, her voice soft as she avoided his gaze. "You aren't a bad guy at heart."

Jaemin's expression peeled away to reveal a brief frown – but then he laughed and ruffled his hair. "But wow, you're good." He said, grinning at Mark. "I was surprised. Where do you come from?"

"Canada," Mark replied, his shoulders relaxing as he fell into conversation with the boy. "You were pretty amazing, too."

"Well, I've trained since I was little." Jaemin shrugged. "Haechan and I were always going at each other." He sighed. "We helped each other improve a lot."

"I don't hear Haechan talking about you that fondly." Sora said dryly, ignoring the looks that her friends shot her.

"Sora, we don't have a good relationship right now." Jaemin beamed at her, his voice insufferable with mocking gentleness. "That doesn't mean I can't respect and appreciate what he's done for me in the past."

"Haechan feels the same way." Mark spoke up, and Sora looked at him incredulously. "I mean, he's told me about you." Mark said solemnly. "He said you were a good player – and you _are,_ I mean, you were carrying your team out there… he said he respects you too."

"I've heard." Jaemin smiled wryly. "But not all things can be fixed with a little bit of glue, you know?"

"But why over something small like that?" Mark pressed, for once sounding agitated. "It was just a girl, why did you two suddenly hate each other like that?"

"She's sitting right next to you, you know." Sora pretended to whisper, seeing that Hana had drawn back, piqued.

Jaemin just laughed. "Are you scared because you're the one dating Hana now?"

"No," Mark blinked, shaking his head. "We aren't –"

"Well, we were rivals from the start." Jaemin shrugged, pausing to place his order. He passed some coins over the counter, then turned back to them and leaned on it, crossing his arms. "We were always trying to beat each other, even when we were friends, of course there'd be bitter feelings. I guess everything just came out at that point." He raised his eyebrow. "But I doubt you two are like that. He and I were too similar – but you're nothing like us." He laughed. "Oh, and I meant that in a good way."

"Yeah, Mark attracts girls with honesty. You two do it with smooth tongues." Sora agreed.

"Says the girl that's madly in love with Haechan." Areum muttered under her breath, looking off to the side.

"I am _not,_ " Sora felt her face heat up and she glared at Areum. "It's just a crush. I like Jaemin too." She turned and winked at the boy.

Jaemin's smile became a little queasy and he turned to get his drink, pretending he hadn't heard as he took a sip of his pudding flavoured smoothie. "Hey, and girls fall for it." He said doggedly.

"Why don't you sit with us," Mark offered, nodding at the empty chair beside him.

Jaemin smiled and shook his head, heading back out the door. "Sorry guys, but I have work." He gave them a small wave as he headed through the door, then stuck his pockets and strolled out to the parking lot.

"I don't understand _how_ a pretty-boy like him can work at the gym without having gay guys hit on him all the time." Sora sighed.

"Doesn't he like, clean change rooms or something?" Areum giggled. "That could _so_ easily happen."

"He's not a bad guy." Mark said, looking uncomfortable as they shot off describing imaginary scenes. "I'm surprised."

"Yeah, he's a lot like Haechan." Hana said quietly, and Sora saw Mark shoot her a side-ways look. Narrowing her eyes, Sora frowned as she caught something odd in Hana's voice. Could it be… was Hana finally feeling _guilty…?_


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a double update! :) If you haven't already read Chapter 9, do a U-turn and read that first! ^^

After the match, Haechan went home to shower and change. He put some ointment on his ankle, then hitched a ride from one of the senior players and met up with the rest of the team at the cafe. Mark wasn't there at first, and Haechan hadn't realized he was glad until half an hour later when the waitress brought him to their table.

"Look who decided to show up!" Chenle smirked, tilting his chair back against the wall as Mark stood awkwardly in front of their table. His hair still looked wet from his shower.

"Sorry, I had to drop my brother off at a friend's house."

 _A friend's house?_   Haechan raised an eyebrow. As far as he knew, he and Hana were the only "friends" who lived in the area. He gave Mark a look but the boy turned away, a gesture so obvious that Haechan felt a flash of annoyance.  _What was that?_

"Sit here," Renjun said, patting at the spot beside him. "I saved it for you."

Mark glanced at the spot, then glanced at Haechan, who was sitting across the table, and a squeamish sort of smile came onto his face. "Er… alright."

 _What is up with this guy?_  Haechan gave him a brief glare but Mark had already engaged himself in busy conversation with Renjun and was completely ignoring him. Irked, Haechan joined into a conversation on his other side, pretending Mark didn't exist for the rest of the night.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Mark sat in a corner away from his usual spot in English. In response, Haechan picked the spot at the front with Areum, and the rest of the week continued like that. He ate lunch with the girls for two days before he couldn't stand seeing Mark getting spoon-fed by Hana, at which point he joined Jisung's grade ten friends. But then he found them annoyingly immature, even more so than Jisung, and more often than not he'd end up sitting outside the socials classroom.

"You're here again? What's wrong with you?" Jeno would often say when he arrived to class five minutes before lunch break ended.

"Oh, you know, getting some peace and quiet." Haechan would make up different excuses every time. "Being around girls really stresses your patience, you know?"

Jeno laughed. "Yeah, I would know."

At which point Haechan realized he was talking about Hana and changed the subject. "The last district game is tomorrow, huh."

"Yeah, that game shouldn't be hard." Jeno gave him a look. "You going to be playing tomorrow, Captain?"

"My foot's fine now." Haechan confirmed. "It told you guys, it wasn't a bad sprain."

"Not until you ran back onto the field," Jeno chuckled. "I've got to give it to you, that was quite a heroic move. You and Mark play well together."

Haechan grimaced. "Yeah."  _I hope that's still true._

 

* * *

 

Tuesday, Haechan woke up sluggish and exhausted from a nightmare that he couldn't remember. Then Haneul threw another tantrum and he had to carry her to school, making him five minutes late for his own class. He dragged his feet to the office to get a late-slip, feeling half-asleep as he pushed against the door. It opened just as he put his weight on his arms and he tripped forward, bumping into someone.

"Sorry – oh."

Haechan froze as he recognized the voice. He stared at the black fabric in front of him for a while, and then Mark brushed him aside gently.

"I'll tell Mrs. Park you're coming." Mark's voice said vaguely, avoiding his gaze as he left the office and headed down the hall.

Pissed and tired, Haechan grabbed his late slip and stomped into the English classroom, delivering it to Mrs. Park's desk. Mark had sat back in his old spot, and Hana had moved back a seat to be next to him. Frowning, Haechan found the farthest seat possible and slammed his books on the table, ignoring the looks that everybody shot him.

 _What did I do wrong?_  Haechan sighed glumly, burying his head in his arms and praying with all his might that there wouldn't be an in-class essay.

Calculus was the only other class he had with Hana. Normally she sat with Areum in the front, while Haechan hung at the back with Jeno and Renjun, but today as Haechan walked through the door, he found Hana sitting in his spot.

"Hey," He said in mock anger as he took the desk beside her. "You took my throne, princess."

Hana giggled and took out her books. "Sorry Haechan, but I felt like sitting next to you today."

"Ah." Haechan felt his smile fade a little and struggled to play dumb. "Good, I feel like slacking off today."

"Is that all I'm good for?" Hana said indignantly, punching him in the shoulder.

"Ow," Haechan winced, chuckling as he shied away from Hana's second attempt to hit him. "Well, no, while you're at it you can give me a massage."

"Actually Haechan," Hana sighed. "I wanted to talk to you."

"Uh-oh." Haechan sat up, feigning a horrified expression. "You're moving to Canada?"

"No, stupid!" Hana laughed, but it quickly faded and she glanced away. "I wanted to say thanks… I mean, for keeping your distance from Mark."

Haechan sat back in his chair, struggling to keep his cool as the teacher walked in five minutes late and set his cup of Starbucks coffee down, looking around for a minute like he forgotten what his lesson was. "Well, I didn't really have to try." He said indifferently. "You're just too pretty, Mark's busy giving all his attention to you."

He hadn't meant to sound bitter, but he certainly felt it when he saw Hana's eyes glow.

"Haechan, you're a really good friend."

"I know," Haechan replied, pretending to sound pleased. "I'm a great person, aren't I – just kidding." He added quickly, because something uncomfortable twinged in his chest.

"No, I agree." Hana said earnestly, leaning her head on his shoulder briefly. "Thank you for always being there for me."

"You're welcome." Haechan said, surprised despite his casual tone. Hana smiled, then turned her attention to the front and started taking notes. Swallowing, Haechan closed his eyes and released a long breath, feeling his shoulder burn where Hana's head had been.

 

* * *

 

"Haechan! You're alive!"

Haechan smiled at Sora's exclamation, as he headed or their table, ignoring Mika's raised eyebrows as he stopped behind the brown-haired girl. "Shove over, or let me sit on your lap." He said.

"Help yourself," Sora said, gesturing at herself, before grinning and shifting over. "Where've you been?"

"I eat lunch during Physics now." Haechan explained, ignoring the fact that Mark's gaze was lingering on him a little. "So I've been studying during a break."

"Yeah right," Areum scoffed. "He's probably been scouting for some other cute girl, now that Hana's taken." She glanced beside her, where Hana was laughing delightedly as she tried to bite the spoon of pudding that Mark was moving around.

"Jeez, this place feels like it's full of couples." Sora complained pointedly, gaze sliding to Mika and Renjun, sharing a sandwich.

"Feeling left out?" Haechan smirked and slid his arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. "We can blend in." Fully aware that Mark had paused and was looking at them warily, he pressed his lips into Sora's hair and felt the girl's shoulders heat up.

"Haechan!" Areum said in shock. "Wait, what about me then?"

Laughing, Sora shoved him away. "No thanks, I've decided I like someone else now."

"Oh? Who?" Areum said immediately, leaning over the table with wide eyes.

"That pro soccer player from neighboring school." Sora winked.

" _Jaemin?!_ " Areum slammed the table with her bottle of water, looking completely offended. "That idiot! How could you, you little traitor?!"

"Sora, I think you don’t have a chance with him," Haechan said dryly. "I think I heard he's in a relationship, right?"

"You've got no chance," Areum laughed, and Sora flung her hair over one shoulder with a huff.

"Damn, guess I'll go back to Haechan then." She sighed. "Hey Haechan, give me a kiss."

"I'll do it if you give me five dollars." Haechan replied nonchalantly. "I forgot to bring money to buy snacks – and I've got a game today."

"But I don't have five dollars!" Sora reached into her pocket and fished out a quarter, laughing as she held it out to him. "How about this?"

"Fine," Haechan sighed, grabbing her hand and kissing the back of it. "There."

"That doesn't count!" Sora said, pointing at her face.

"You didn't give me five dollars," Haechan reminded her with a grin.

"Jeez, you really  _are_  like Jaemin." Sora said, turning back to her lunch and shaking her head as Areum laughed. "Maybe I should go for the basketball players instead."

 

* * *

 

In the end, Haechan barely played in the game at all. After he'd scored twice within the first fifteen minutes, he ran off and called Jisung to replaced him, complaining about his ankle. In reality he just hadn't wanted to face Mark. Standing on the same field as last week, wearing the same uniform, playing the same sport, only made him realize just how much trust they had lost. He kept unconsciously searching for the boy, and he had to stop himself from tagging along when Mark had possession, and when he did stop, he would feel a bitter surge of anger.

They were both guys! What was Mark trying to do? What did he expect?!

They won the game easily with a score of six-one and headed back to the change rooms happy but tired. Haechan stayed behind to help Coach Park pick up the stray water bottles that the kids had thrown everywhere, hoping to avoid the crowd, but when he went back to the change room Mark and a couple others were still hanging around, so he escaped into the showers.

He stayed there for a long time, maybe around fifteen minutes, until he couldn't hear any more talking or locker slamming. Then he took his time drying his hair and changing back into his clothes, then headed back to the benches and stopped short.

"W… What… are you still doing here?"

Mark stood up, his gaze hard and burning as he walked towards Haechan. It looked like he'd been waiting a while. "I need to talk to you."

"Oh – haha," Haechan heard his laugh tremble and he took a step back, returning Mark's gaze warily. "Sorry, my ankle was hurting so I didn't play, did you guys have a hard time? O-Or," he stammered, avoiding Mark's gaze now as his mind raced to come up with a decent response, "If you're worried about Hana, I'm totally okay with you two – oof!" He grunted as he was shoved hard against the lockers, wincing as a leftover lock pressed into his back.

"I think you know what I want to talk about." Mark muttered, pinning his shoulders hard against the metal surface. "I want to know what the hell's going on between us."

You _wanna know?! I wanna know!_   Haechan swallowed. "Look, I have to go –"

"Why are you ignoring me?" Mark pleaded, giving him another small push.

Haechan winced. " _You_  ignored me first!"

"That was because…" Mark paused, then glanced off to the side and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about last time, after the game. I hadn't meant to gross you out."

"I-It's not that I was grossed out…"  _Wait, that's not what I wanted to say._  Haechan gritted his teeth. "You know what, I just don't feel myself around you. You piss me off."

Mark's eyes widened and he looked wounded – then he covered it up and lowered his head, biting his lip as he paused for a couple seconds. "I… I feel weird when I'm around you too."

"It's not the same." Haechan snapped. "Mark, let me go." He gathered up his strength and shoved Mark away, struggling to escape and finally managing to worm out.

"What's different about it?" Mark grabbed his arm before he could bolt and pulled him back roughly. Haechan yelped as he felt his ankle throb and stumbled backwards, falling into Mark. The next thing he knew, he was trapped in the boy's strong hold, numb with shock.

"L…Let me go." Haechan said breathily, hating the way his voice was shaking.

"When I'm with you, I feel so happy." Mark's voice came closer, and Haechan flinched as he felt warm breath against his ear. "I miss you when I'm not talking to you. I miss you when I'm not around you. I like being around you, it makes me so happy. "

"What are you saying…?!"

"And there's still times when I get so self-conscious and nervous, and I'm confused…But everything comes so naturally that I don't even have to figure it out."

Something soft, warm, and wet slipped around the tip of his ear and Haechan cringed as shivers ran through his body. "Stop –!"

"Just go with the flow, Haechan…"

"You're freaking me out –"

Mark's arms tightened around him. "Well, you confuse me! Do you know how confusing you are? You’re the most confusing person in the world... I wish I could explain how I feel.... Haechan, I think -I think that maybe – I’m possibly falling for yo- "

" _Mark!_ " Haechan elbowed him, hard, and broke away, whirling around and facing the boy.

Mark grimaced, hugging his ribs as he sat down on the bench.

Horrified, Haechan grabbed his bag and ran out the door, but Mark's hoarse cry followed him.

"I'm not giving up, Haechan!"

 _Shit…!_ Haechan didn't stop until he reached the crosswalk, where he paced back and forth as he waited for the walk signal. His mind was racing, and his heart was beating so hard that he could feel his blood throbbing through his fingertips. What Mark said had almost sounded like a confession, and he was thoroughly petrified and bewildered by the idea of being confessed to by another  _guy…_  so why... why did he have this undeniable feeling of joy…?

 


	11. Chapter 11

Haechan sighed for the millionth time as he scribbled over his socials test, feeling the thick wad of paper glumly with his fingers. He hated essays, and socials essays were the worst. Why did there have to be an essay on the unit test?  _Why?_  Why did life have to turn out this way? Why did he have to start doubting his sexuality? Why did Mark go and shatter his very soul into pieces?

"Relax, I'll tell Coach that you're going to be late." He felt somebody brush his shoulder – Jeno, again. He was sounding awfully smug, and it was starting to get on his nerves. _What was he doing, trying to be captain?_

Haechan looked up at the clock and saw that class had been over for two minutes already, and he'd only finished the second body paragraph. Groaning, Haechan rested his cheek on his essay, feeling the powdery texture of the lined paper as he closed his eyes.

"Haechan, if you're done, then I want to go home." His teacher's voice called dryly across the room.

"Oh, sorry." Haechan lifted his head and sighed, struggling to write down a few more sentences for the third paragraph before going onto the conclusion. He pretty much copied his introduction, switched the sentences around, then wrote his name on the test and delivered it to the big pile of unit tests at the front. "Have a nice weekend." He said, waving briefly at the teacher before limping out the door for training.

 _Eh, I'm half an hour late, no big deal._  Haechan sighed to himself and ruffled his messy hair. He was feeling a little sick, and his ankle seemed to have gotten worse. Technically he should give it a break – but he was Captain, he had to at least show up for training.

Walking into the silent change room, Haechan heard giggling. Somewhere in the back of his mind, it registered that it was wrong to hear giggling in a boy's change room – but by the time his exhausted brain processed what that meant, he had already turned the corner.

_Oh._

Hana had her arms pulled tight around Mark's neck and she was on her tippy toes, their lips touching. Haechan felt his gaze fall from Hana to Mark's hands, placed gingerly on her waist. His face wasn't the only thing that burned.

Haechan cleared his throat and they pulled apart, looking shocked. "Sorry, don't mind me." He said airily, tossing his gym bag on the bench and pulling his shirt off.

"Whoops," Hana said, and ran out of the change room. Her footsteps echoed in the following silence.

It was incredibly awkward for a while. Then Mark spoke up. "I can explain."

"Oh, good." Haechan said brightly, tying his shoes. "Because I don't have an excuse for why we're late yet."

"Ah – Haechan –" Mark began, but Haechan stuffed his bag into the lockers and slammed it noisily, drowning out his voice.

"Hurry up, you're wasting time and we're already late." He said, leaving before the choking sensation in his throat could get any worse.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Haechan was so confused that when he reached the field, he had already started running his warm up when Coach Park called him to stop.

"What are you doing? You're supposed to be taking a break." The man said, his voice cross but his expression amused.

"Oh, yeah." Haechan blinked, surprised to find that he was sweating. "I forgot."

"You forgot, huh." Coach laughed. "You can relax once in a while, Haechan. Sit with me and watch the team train. I'll give you some stretches to do."

"Alright," Haechan sighed. The last thing he wanted to do was watch Mark train, but… what the heck. It wasn't like Mark was the only person on the team.

As a reward for their success in districts, Coach Park let them play a team match for most of the training. Haechan watched jealously from the side, rolling his ankle back and forth. By five-thirty, when Coach let them go for their weekend, he was bored to death.

"Mark, help me pick up the balls, you were late today." Coach Park called. "Haechan, can you help me bring the cones back? I already got Renjun to pick them up. I gotta head back and unlock the change rooms for them."

"Sure, no problem," Haechan said, limping over to the bag and hauling it over his shoulder. He headed out of the field and turned the corner towards the streetlight only to halt as he realized he was about to collide into somebody.

"Oh, hi Haechan." Hana blinked, her brown eyes wide.

Haechan stared at her, then felt his lips thin. "Are you here for Mark?" He said, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "You waited all the way until now?"

Hana frowned, catching his tone. "No, I had choir anyway. What's up with you?"

"I  _wonder._ " Haechan said sarcastically, hitching the bag further up his shoulder and about to walk around her when she grabbed his arm.

"Are you mad about earlier? It was just a kiss!"

"Yeah," Haechan said breathily, hating how he couldn't control his voice anymore. "Just a kiss."

"Why are you doing this?" Hana asked harshly.

Haechan closed his eyes took a deep breath and then opened them, "Doing what?

"Being angry at me all of a sudden. Honestly Haechan, it's no big deal!" Hana said sharply. "Look!"

Haechan tensed in surprise as Hana grabbed his shoulders and leaned up, slamming their lips together. For a moment he just stared at her long lashes, his head spinning as he registered the sensation of her soft lips against his. With a sudden surge of adrenaline, Haechan kissed her back and pushed her into the wall with his body, grabbing her arms as she tried to lift them and deepening the kiss with his tongue.

"Mmm…"

Haechan felt a chill as he heard Hana's muffled moan and he opened his eyes – then he realized that somebody was watching and broke away, wiping his mouth as he turned to Mark staring wide-eyed at them with a bag of balls. Shocked, Haechan opened his mouth and made to speak – but Mark turned and walked away quickly.

"M–"

"Whoah," Hana's breathy voice caught his attention and he glanced back to see her looking up at him with flushed cheeks. "Where'd you learn to kiss like that?" She grabbed his arm as he made to walk away.

" _Huh?_ " Haechan furrowed his brows distractedly as he watched Mark's retreating back. "That was my first… sorry, I have to go." He pulled away from her grip and ran as best as he could with a slight limp, not caring that Hana was still standing, dazed, by the wall.

"Mark!" He was stopped at the red light and hadn't managed to catch up to the boy until he stumbled into the change room. As always on Fridays, everybody had already left to enjoy their weekend. Mark was already changed by the time he got in and was busy putting his clothes into his bag.

"Congratulations," Mark said stiffly, swinging his bag over his shoulder and heading for the exit.

Haechan straightened, shocked as the boy brushed past him coldly. He turned, struggling to say something – but then he stopped himself, head pounding.

_Wait… isn't this what I wanted?_

 

* * *

 

 

 _Today, I lost my first kiss to Hana._  Haechan repeated dazedly to himself for the fifth time as he lay on his bed, staring up at his glow-in-the-dark stars. It'd been over ten years since he first decided that it would be his goal, and today he'd finally done it.

_So why does it feel like I messed up?_

Haechan closed his eyes, telling himself to calm down. Damn, why did he have to chase after Mark? It would have been a perfect moment to ask her out. But then again, he remembered jealously, of course she'd say no. She liked Mark.

 _Why is it never me?_  Haechan sighed, turning to face the window. He couldn't deny the fact that he was jealous anymore. It seemed like every friend he made was taken away by Hana. First Jaemin, now Mark –  _wait, shouldn't it be the other way around?_  Hana was being taken away by Mark. Haechan frowned to himself. That sounded odd somehow. Mark was being taken away by Hana?

All of a sudden, heat flared all over his face and Haechan sat up, surprised.  _Huh?_ Bewildered and tired, Haechan pulled off his sheets and slid off his bed, thinking about going to the washroom when his cell phone rang.

 _Again?_  Haechan sighed, ruffling his hair and bending down with some difficulty to pick up his phone. Hana. Great. He paused for a moment to prepare himself, then answered the call and held up his phone.

"Hello?"

Haechan waited for Hana to reply, and say sorry for waking him or something, but it was silent. Frowning, he walked over to his window and peered across the street through his blinds. Her lights had been turned off.

"Hello? Hana? You there?"

Haechan looked at his phone screen and saw that she'd already hung up. Confused, he opened his blinds so that he could see the rest of the street. Immediately, his urge to go to the bathroom disappeared. There was somebody standing in front of Hana's house. Narrowing his eyes, Haechan confirmed that it was two males.One tall and slim, and the other pretty tall, pretty bulky, about the right build to be Jeno.

_Okay, that's kind of crossing the line._

Remembering their kiss, Haechan felt a sudden surge of protectiveness and he turned around, pulling on a sweater and heading quietly to the garage. Leaving from the side door, he closed it without locking it and then jogged across the street.

"Hey!" He yelled, slowing when the figures turned around. Yeah, definitely Jeno..... and Jaemin. "What the hell are you doing here?" Haechan demanded, glaring at Jeno's stony expression. "Are you a stalker now?"

"It's none of your business," Jeno replied shortly, turning around.

Haechan grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "I told you it's my business if Hana asks me to keep an eye on you."

"What are you talking about, Haechan? You sound absurd! Now let me go." Jeno growled, grabbing his hand and flinging it off his shoulder.

Already in a bad mood, Haechan stepped forward and shoved the boy, hard. "I don't want to hear that coming from  _you,_  stalker. And why are you with _him_? Are you also betraying the team?! People who hang out with him are no longer welcome in our team. If you want to hang out with him you don't have to come to practice anymore."

" _What_  did you say?" Jeno threatened, pushing him back.

"You heard me, Jeno!" Haechan snapped, fisting the front of Jeno's shirt. "Why the hell are you in front of her house, hmm? You're a fucking  _stalker._ "

The next thing he knew, his fist was stinging and Jeno was holding one side of his face, eyes wide in fury.

"Oh you want to  _die,_  don't you." He snarled, grabbing Haechan's shirt and pulling him forward, locking his elbows around the boy in a choking grip.

His vision a little blurry, Haechan stepped on Jeno and struggled, kicking and swinging his elbows back.  _Goddamn, I actually can't breathe._  Then he heard a faint cry.

"Guys, stop it!" Jaemin cried, trying to separate them.

Feeling Jeno's grip loosen, Haechan wrenched himself away and whirled, slugging a punch into the boy's face.

Jeno stumbled backwards, dark liquid dripping from his nose, then recovered and lunged at Haechan, knocking him to the ground and lifting his fist.

Flinching, Haechan felt pain explode in his head and gasped as he saw Jeno's eyes glint in the lamplight, his fist raised again. Vaguely he heard somebody screaming, and as he felt the second punch his ears popped and he recognized Hana's voice.

" _Stop, I'm begging you!_ "

But the blows kept coming. Haechan lifted his arm to shield his face, slamming his knee upwards and feeling the weight disappear off him suddenly. Scrambling to his feet, he swayed as he felt the blood rush from his throbbing head, sending sparkles erupting all over his vision. The next thing he knew back on the ground and somebody – a guy now – was yelling.

"Stop!"

The weight disappeared all of a sudden and Haechan fell limp against the concrete, struggling to breathe, his vision dark except for the blurry orange glow of the streetlight.

"Haechan!" Somebody pulled him up and Haechan stumbled, blinking something wet out of his eyes. He pushed the person away sluggishly, but he was only held tighter. "What is going on? Haechan? Jeno? You guys are teammates!"

 _Teammates._  Haechan blinked, realizing the voice belonged to Mark. Suddenly alert, he shoved Mark away and limped away, glaring at Jeno, who was holding his nose with a bloody hand.

"This guy – this guy's a creepy stalker." He panted, only half-aware of what he was saying as he swayed on his feet.

“Heachan, watch what are you saying,“ Jaemin said harshly, helping Jeno up.

"Let me fucking explain," Jeno said just as angrily, walking over to a bag that he'd left by the driveway and holding it up. "Hana left this on the bus. I came to give it back. We work at the same tutor place."

Of all the times he'd been punched, this time hurt the most. Haechan stared, shocked. A painful tingling shot through his body and he realized it was the embarrassment.

 _So Hana told me to tell this guy to stop annoying her… without bothering to mention the fact that they_ work _together?!_

"Shit –" Haechan began, only more angry by what he'd heard, but Mark grabbed him and pulled him back.

"Where the hell are you taking him?" Jeno took a step forward, hands balled into fists. "I'm not done with this idiot."

"Look, he's sorry, alright?" Mark said, lifting his free hand in surrender and taking a step back. "You need to calm down, man."

"Mark, let me go. I'm not done with him too. " Haechan said, trying to pry Mark’s hands off of him.

"Listen to your boyfriend, Haechan," Jaemin laughed. "He’s smarter than you are.“

“You, shut up!“ Haechan turned to frown at Jaemin.

"Jeno, Jaemin, come on."

Haechan turned, shocked to see Hana standing in her driveway, wrapped in a bathrobe. He stood frozen with the shocked look on his face, not knowing what to say. _Why is she nice to them?!_ Feeling numb, he let himself get pulled away, watching as Jeno and Jaemin turned and followed Hana into her house.

Haechan didn't realize where he was being taken until they walked into the shadow of Mark's house. Then, stinging with betrayal, he grabbed the boy's shoulders and slammed him hard into the garage door.

"Why did you interrupt?!"

"Are you  _mad_  at me for saving your hide?"

Haechan blinked, taken aback by the venom in Mark's immediate reply. He'd never seen Mark angry before.

"Think about what might have happened if Hana hadn't asked me to stop you. The neighbors would have called the police." Mark snarled. "Why, Haechan?" He lifted his hands and grabbed Haechan's face, the warmth of his palm stinging against his wounds. Haechan stared back, frozen, as Mark's dark eyes flitted over his face. In the following silence, he held his breath and Mark took a deep one, his shoulders relaxing.

"I don't get it… I don't see what's so good about her…" Mark's eyes narrowed as he leaned forward. Haechan flinched as he felt something soft press against a bruise on his cheek, shivering at the pain.

"Mark… let… let go…"

Mark tightened his grip and his thumbs dug into the sides of Haechan's neck as he dragged his lips over Haechan's face, coming closer, and closer…

"S-Stop – mm…" Haechan broke off as his groan was swallowed by Mark's lips. He tilted his head up, feeling Mark's grip soften to a gentle caress as he gave in to the boy's soft, moist lips and prying tongue. They parted for a breath and Mark paused uncertainly, but having already lost his mind Haechan wrapped his hands around the boy's head and pulled him close, twining his hands in Mark's soft, fluffy hair, kissing him with all his strength until he was hard as hell and moaning for breath.

"…Haechan…"

Mark's hot, low murmur made Haechan tremble and he broke away with a gasp, searching Mark's face with wide eyes as his whole body stung, the pain clearing his mind.

_Holy shit!_

"I…" Haechan stammered, stumbling backwards. "I have to go back."

"Wait." Mark said huskily, reaching for him. He closed his hands around Haechan's arms and pulled the boy close, wrapping his arms around Haechan's limp body and smashing their lips together again, hungrily, until Haechan was dizzy and couldn't stand up on his own.

"Good night." Mark said softly, letting go when Haechan had regained his balance. "Do you need help with your wounds?"

"N…Nah, I got… I got a…" Haechan trailed off, unable to comprehend anything but Mark's dark, swollen lips at the moment. "I got it." He said lamely, flushing as Mark chuckled. Turning, Haechan brushed his fingers over his sore lips and felt his face flare up even more. Suddenly wanting to escape Mark's gaze, he took a shaking step forward and ran the rest of the way back to his house, heart pounding and brain full of fluff.

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

"Chemistry, English, Calculus – oh shit, Calculus –" Haechan grimaced as his calculus textbook slipped out of his trembling hands, swearing out loud as it tumbled to the floor with a painful ripping sound.

_I'm so messed up._

He picked it back up and straightened with a stuff huff, stacking the books on his desk and deciding he needed a break from homework. It was taking him an hour to finish one question – that was the state his brain had been in since Friday night.

"Haechan, we're going to the mall, do you want to come?" His mother's voice called from downstairs.

 

Haechan stood up and winced as his ribs stung. "No thanks!" He shouted back, clearing his throat when his voice came out hoarse.

"Okay, then take care of Haneul! We're going now!"

Sighing, Haechan tucked his cell phone in his pocket and headed into the bathroom. "Okay!"

_Wow_ _Haechan_ _, you look bad-ass._

He nodded at his bruised self in the mirror, admiring how the darkness around his eyes brought out the blue. Then he grinned and laughed for no reason at all.

Getting back to business, Haechan assessed his wounds. They weren't that bad, despite him being the one on the ground. The bone above his right eye was a little scraped, there was a big bruise on his left cheek, and his lips were cut all over the place. Funny how his lips hurt the most. Grabbing his sports ointment, he rubbed some on his bruises, sighing as the ointment cooled the burning of his wounds, then pulled up his shirt and rubbed some all over the darkening mark along his lower right ribs. By the time he was done, the smell of ointment had made him hungry, and he headed downstairs to scavenge for food.

He was halfway done cooking his bacon and eggs when Haneul, who had been watching Sophia the First passively until then, came up to him and pulled his shirt.

"Oppa, I want to go play with Timmy."

 

Haechan dropped the spatula and fumbled with it for a moment before he managed to get a tight enough grip on it. "Go by yourself."

"But Mommy said you have to come with me." Haneul said crossly, crossing her arms and frowning at him with furrowed brows.

 

Haechan sighed and turned off the stove vent, grabbing a fork and eating right from the frying pan. "They're right beside us, it's no big deal."

"Mommy said you have to go with me! I'll tell her that you let me into a stranger's house alone!" Haneul shouted, stomping her feet.

Wincing, Haechan quickly slurped up the rest of his bacon and dropped the pan in the sink as Haneul started crying. "Alright, alright!" He cried, holding his hands up to his ears. "I'll go!"

 

* * *

 

"Hi."

_Shit._

Mark smiled at him awkwardly from the door as Haneul ran inside the house with a delighted squeal, shouting Timmy's name.

"Sorry, she wanted to come play… is it okay?"

"Of course." Mark opened the door wider in a gesture for him to come in. "Sorry, it's a little messy since my parents are coming back soon, so I unpacked the rest of the stuff…"

 

Haechan swallowed hard, leaving his shoes by the door and then following Mark into the house.

"Er, do you want to play some Wii?" Mark asked hesitantly, pausing by the stairs.

 

Haechan shook his head furiously, then stopped because he was dizzy. _Go up to your room? After that? Are you crazy?!_

Mark smiled a little. "Okay." He said, standing there for a moment like he was confused. Then he seemed to register that Haechan had said no, and he turned around with a perplexed expression, ruffling his hair as he headed into the kitchen.

Unable to do anything but follow, Haechan ended up in the living room watching their siblings play king and queen. Mark sat down on the ground, joining their royal tea party as the tall and hot and awkward servant. Haechan stayed on the couch and played around on his cell phone, glad that they ignored him.

 

Well, he said _glad,_ but he couldn't help but notice how little attention Mark was giving him. _I mean, there's two little kids, and two of us… and you decide to play with the two little kids?_ But then again, he'd pretty much told Mark to leave him alone – did complaining mean that he wanted Mark's attention? _No way, that's… that's not true._ Haechan shifted, wincing as his ankle stung, angry that he'd gotten himself angry. Mark turned his head and glanced at him briefly, but then turned his attention back to pouring imaginary tea into their siblings' demanding cups.

 

Haechan played three more rounds of Plants vs. Zombies, losing three more rounds before he gave up and shoved his phone back into his pocket. "I'm bored." He announced, getting to his feet. "Let's go play some Brawl."

Mark stood up too, dark eyes wide.

Annoyed, _Why do you look surprised? I just want to play Wii._ Haechan turned and led the way upstairs. Mark followed silently behind.

"Alright, best three out of five." Haechan said, turning on the Wii as Mark took out the remotes and placed pillows against his bed for them to lean on. He sat down and licked his lips, deciding to forget about Friday night for the time being. He needed to prove himself. "Loser has to cook lunch."

 

"Okay." Mark said mildly, tossing Haechan his remote and sitting a careful distance away.

To make it fair, Haechan chose Pikachu too, and vented all his frustration and confusion and god-knows-what other feelings into the game. He didn't realize he was absolutely crushing Mark until the first game ended after only three minutes – then Mark stepped it up, and by the end of the fourth game they were tied at two-two. When Haechan won the fifth game through pure luck – Mark was ahead by 120 damage when he killed himself… – he was ecstatic. It felt like he'd won more than just a game and a free lunch.

"Hah! See, I _can_ beat you!" Haechan shouted, punching his fist in the air and bouncing up and down in excitement. He waited for Mark to say something, but the boy remained silent and Haechan turned, suddenly worried. "What's wrong – whoah!" He yelped as he was shoved down, grimacing as his head thumped into the carpet. " _Mark,_ what are you…" He trailed off as Mark kissed him, his body already instinctively reacting to the boy's lips as he wrapped his arms around Mark's back and curled his hands into the boy's sweater. "Nn… uh…" Mark kissed him gently, carefully, but it wasn't gentleness he wanted, not now, not after all this time, and he knotted his fists in Mark's shirt, pulling Mark harder against him. He groaned softly, low in his throat, and then his arms circled him, gathering Mark against him. Vaguely he became aware of Mark shifting and suddenly felt the boy's knee between his legs. They pushed up, kissing harder, deeper, and Haechan broke off with a gasp. _"Ahh_ –" He froze, cutting himself off. It took a few seconds for him to realize that the sound… had come from his own mouth. "W-Whoah," he laughed nervously, afraid of Mark's shocked looking stare. "That was weird."

"Haechan…" Then Mark pounced on him again, and this time Haechan couldn't stop his instincts. He punched Mark in the face.

" _Ack sorry!_ "Haechan said in alarm, scrambling backwards as Mark sat up and brushed the blood off his split lip. But his brown eyes were calm and he crawled forward, trapping Haechan in a corner against his bed-side drawer. He leaned forward and Haechan flinched away, but nothing happened. Then, very seriously, Mark spoke.

"Do you love Hana?"

 

Haechan blinked, opening his mouth. When nothing came out, he blinked and tried again, feeling a bit like a fish. _What the hell? How come I can't answer him?_

Mark's eyes narrowed and he lowered his voice, leaning forward so that his lips touched Haechan's ear. "Or is it me?" He breathed, his warm voice tickling Haechan's ear.

Totally frozen now, Haechan just stared at the grey fabric of Mark's sweater, his ears throbbing in the silence.

Eventually, Mark sighed and moved back, tucking his finger under Haechan's chin and leaning down. In a panic, Haechan shoved his hand between them, flinching as Mark kissed his palm.

"Since I met you, everything's gone wrong." He managed to say, swallowing as he tried to steady his wavering voice.

Mark leaned back and raised his eyebrow, frowning. "Wrong? I thought everything happened perfectly."

"I… I…" Haechan scrambled for words as Mark's gaze deepened, the abyss of his dark eyes forcibly unraveling the threads of his conscience. "We.. We're both guys."

"Does that really matter?" Mark muttered, leaning forward determinedly. "Are you going to let this chance slip away because you're scared of what other people think? That's not like you at all, Haechan."

 

Haechan closed his eyes, feeling his breath shudder as Mark's lips brushed his forehead. "I can't… this isn't right…"

"But this is about us… and it feels right to me." Mark said softly, trailing his kiss along the bridge of Haechan's nose. His moist, soft lips left his skin feeling both cool and burning hot. Haechan groaned softly, unable to resist what Mark was doing to him.

"I love you, Haechan. I know you love me back."

"Wait – uhn…" Haechan fell back on his elbows, bumping his head into the hard wood of the bedside table. It stung but he didn't really notice – Mark's tongue was slipping between his lips and his sanity was floating away. When he eventually found the willpower to push Mark away, he looked off to the side and licked his lips, struggling not to cry. _I'm a guy. Guys don't cry._ He told himself, but then he felt lips brush the side of his face and he closed his eyes. _Scratch being a guy…_ He turned and fisted Mark's hair, giving him a brief, harsh kiss before parting, gazing back at Mark's hazy, darkened eyes.

"I… I'm not sure about this."

"You don't have to be." Mark groaned, pulling Haechan towards him and running his hand through the boy's hair as Haechan rested his cheek on the boy's warm collarbone and closed his eyes with a trembling sigh. "I'm sure enough for both of us."


	13. Final

"So, uh, why is Jaemin here again?" Haechan drained the rest of his coke and shot a glance at the boy, who was playing the spinner for twister and laughing in thorough enjoyment as he watched Renjun, Jeno, Sora, Mark, and Areum struggle to stay on their dots. Mika was sitting on the sofa, looking bemused, her Biology project half-finished in her lap.

"Because there weren't enough guys." Hana replied brightly, refilling his glass. "If I'm gonna host a party, I gotta make sure there's an equal number of guys and girls!"

"What do you mean there aren't enough guys?" Haechan said distractedly, a bout of squealing and laughter erupted from the living room as somebody collapsed. "There were four guys and four girls before he came."

"Oh, you don't count." Hana said with a smile, and Haechan raised his eyebrows at her, feeling himself grin irritably.

"How come Haechan doesn't count?" Mark said, swinging his arm over Haechan's shoulder and puffing, a great big stupid grin on his face as he wrung out his shirt. "Boy, that was tougher than I thought it'd be."

"I'm kidding," Hana laughed, her eyes sparkling as she looked at Mark. "It's because Sora really wanted him to come – and besides, he's not a bad guy."

"I never said he was," Haechan said, pushing Mark away. _Jeez, he'd gotten clingy_. "It's just weird of him to come."

"Loosen up Haechan." Hana grinned as the rest of them came up to her for more drinks.

"I can help him with that," Mark said mischievously, grabbing Haechan's shoulders and massaging them. Haechan winced as the teen slipped his fingers inside the collar of his shirt, ducking away.

"You're such a  _pervert!_ " He accused, realizing a second later that a couple of them had raised their eyebrows questioningly.

"I can't help it," Mark whined, "Haechan is just too sexy. Isn't that right?"

"Oh, yeah," Sora said wisely, breaking the would-have-been awkward moment. "I totally understand."

Jaemin, who had gone to retrieve his cup from the basement, came back up with a deck of cards and slammed them on the table. "Hey guys, let's play dares."

"With cards?" Mika raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I know that game." Mark said, straightening. He looked excited, but Haechan caught a hitch to his voice and narrowed his eyes at the boy, suspicious.

"I'll explain," Jaemin said calmly, waiting for Jeno, who had been grabbing a bag of chips, to join them at the dinner table. "So, we have nine people… right?" He glanced around, his eyes briefly meeting Haechan's, then glanced back down and pulled the cards, out, searching through them. He pulled out two kings, then the numbers two to eight. "These cards will be in the middle." He said, flipping them over and shuffling them, then spreading them a little bit on the table. "Whichever two people get the kings will collaborate to come up with a dare. Then they'll pick two numbers from two to eight,"

"And whichever two people have those numbers will have to do the dare." Mark finished.

"Sounds great." Haechan grinned, eyeing the cards. He loved dares.

"I don't get it." Areum announced. "I'm confused. The two people with those numbers?"

"Okay," Jaemin said patiently. "So, for example, everybody grab a card."

They all reached for a card – Haechan turned his and, voila, the king.

"Don't show your card unless you have the king." Jaemin said, turning his card for them to see. He had the king too.

Haechan flipped his card out, and Jaemin's lips twitched into a small smile.

"Okay, so the rest of you have numbers. So me and Haechan would then go to the other room and think of a dare and pick two numbers. Let's say that… two and five have to kiss." He offered, glancing at them. "So who's got two and five?"

"Ohh," Areum said loudly, giggling as Jeno raised an eyebrow and turned his card – a five. "I get it now!" Then Mark slammed his card down on the table with a heavy sigh – a two – and everybody burst out laughing. Haechan smiled as Mark shot him a look.

"Shit, I always have the worst luck with this game." Mark said sheepishly.

"It was just an example," Jaemin said, grinning widely. "Alright, cards in the middle."

"This is  _my_  kind of game." Sora said, licking her lips as Jaemin set up the cards for them to take again. She grabbed a card, looked at it, then jumped up. "Woo! Who's with me?" She said, flaunting her king at everybody else.

Haechan glanced at his card – a six – and smiled, looking at the ceiling briefly.  _Damn._

"Not bad," Mika said mildly, showing them her king.

"Oh this is going to be  _good._ " Sora cackled. Areum groaned, and looking around, Haechan saw that Renjun looked a little pale.

"Something easy to start off with, please," Jaemin called sweetly, glancing again at his card, but Sora just kept laughing.

"Oh, jeez." Jeno sighed, rubbing his shoulders like he was cold. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Those two are a bad combination." Hana agreed, though she looked more excited than scared.

The two girls were gone for nearly five minutes before they returned. Haechan sat up, watching them apprehensively as Mika walked past them, to the kitchen counter. Calmly, she tore off a piece of plastic wrap, holding it up for them to see.

Sora leaned one elbow on the table and gave them all smirks. "Two people have to kiss each other through that plastic wrap."

"French kiss," Mika corrected, smiling when they all shot her horrified looks. "With the tongue."

"The numbers," Jeno demanded. "What are the numbers?"

"Uh," Sora glanced at Mika, then turned back to them and shrugged. "Five and six."

"See?!" Mark exclaimed, flipping his card over. A five. "I suck at this game!"

Everybody laughed, but Haechan could only manage a queasy smile. Noticing, Sora's smirk darkened and she trained her gaze on him.

"Oh, don't tell me…"

"No way," Haechan scoffed, throwing his card in the center of the table. "Why'd you have to pick six?"

Mark's expression suddenly turned into a grin, and Haechan gave him a wary look as Mika came over and hung the plastic wrap between them.

"Oh you're right, I  _do_  like this game." Areum said, pleased, as Haechan leaned back in his chair, as far away from the wrap as possible. Glancing at them, he saw that even Hana was grinning.

"Aw, come on Haechan," Mark's eyes sparkled at him. "Easy peasy."

"You –" Haechan flinched as Mark leaned forward and, grabbing his face with both hands, pressed his lips to his.

"French kiss," Mika reminded them as Areum and Sora broke out in squeals of pleasure.

"Damn you," Haechan muttered, flushing as he opened his mouth and felt Mark's warm tongue press against his through the thin plastic. He felt his eyes narrow and he relaxed despite himself, temporarily forgetting that they were being watched as his body involuntarily responded as though it were a normal kiss. Closing his eyes, he leaned forward and heard himself moan.

"Ohmygosh, please stop!" Sora laughed breathily, pulling the plastic wrap away from them. "I'm going to wet my pants! That was so good!"

"Heh, easy peasy." Haechan panted, wiping the back of his mouth as he sat back in his chair and tried to cool his face down. He shot a look at Mark and saw the boy smiling dumbly back, his hands under the table.

"That was intense," Mika agreed in satisfaction, while the rest of them looked a little in shock.

"Cards in the middle." Mark reminded them, tossing his card back onto the table.

"R-Right," Renjun stammered, looking terrified as he returned his card.

 

* * *

 

 

Haechan was safe for another eight rounds – in fact, he was king three times, but he didn't ask anything as bad as what Mika and Sora had come up with. Areum and Hana had to share a pizza crust and kiss in the middle, Mika had to eat brownies off Renjun's stomach, and by far the most hilarious one, Jaemin had to give Jeno a lap dance. Sora had recorded it, and by the time Haechan re-watched the ten-second dare for the third time he was laughing so hard that his stomach hurt.

"Oh, come on." Jaemin grinned, his ears a little red despite his good acting. Jeno had left the room to get another bag of chips, too embarrassed to face them. "Admit it, my dancing skills were good."

"Yeah, too good." Haechan laughed, wiping a tear from his eye as he grabbed his card for the next round. "I think those hip thrusts were too much for Jeno."

"Watch what you're saying," Jaemin smirked, spinning his card around for them to see. "I've got the king. I'm going to get you guys back…"

They waited until Jeno returned, his bag of cheetos half empty. He picked a card, then swore, and went to get a drink.

"Oh, finally!" Hana said happily, showing them her first king of the evening.

Jaemin's smile faded a little, but he quickly recovered and nodded, heading downstairs with her.

"Hey, I actually haven't been too unlucky." Mark began, grabbing a couple Cheetos and licking his fingers. "All I had to do was dance with Mika and have Areum take my shirt off."

"That was pretty embarrassing, okay." Areum said indignantly, blushing all over.

"And kiss Haechan," Sora reminded him, closing her eyes in a blissful expression. "Damn, we should have recorded that one! It was so good!"

"We can do it again," Mark offered.

Haechan stood up, scraping his chair backwards and smacking Mark over the head. "Say that again and I'll sack you, stupid!" He snapped, but Mark just chuckled and rubbed his head.

"Wow, I rarely see Haechan this hot-headed over anyone but Hana." Sora commented, smiling wryly as Haechan sat down and glared at her.

"It's just cause I'm tired from taking care of my sister all day." He felt the need to explain, flinching as he felt Mark's hand brush his under the table. Actually his sister had been playing with Timmy all day. And he… well, needless to say…

"We're ready." Jaemin announced as he entered the kitchen again, looking completely delighted. Hana, behind him, grinned with flushed cheeks.

"Oh god," Renjun whimpered, burying his head in his arms miserably. Mika gave him a pitying glance and patted his hair briefly.

"I've been safe the whole time." Haechan bragged, catching Jaemin's eye challengingly. "There's no way it'll be me."

"Hana picked the numbers 3 and 8," Jaemin smiled back.

Mark sighed and handed his card over. "I had a feeling it'd be me." He said resignedly.

Haechan glanced around, waiting for someone to fess up. When nobody reacted, he realized that he hadn't even bothered to look at his card after the two kings had revealed themselves. Glancing at Mark, he took an apprehensive peek at his card and swore.

"That's what you get for saying it won't be you," Areum laughed delightedly, while everybody else sighed in relief.

"So what's the dare?" Haechan said, eyeing Jaemin warily. _Of all people… why did it have to come from him?_

"It's simple." Jaemin's lips curved mischievously. "One of you has to pull down the other's fly."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

Jaemin feigned an offended look. "What do you mean, that's it? Of course not, they have to use only their mouths!"

Haechan felt his mouth go dry and he patted his cheeks as he felt himself turn hot. He heard the rest of them laugh and saw that even Renjun had a smile on his face. "Are you freaking serious?" He demanded, staring at Jaemin and then at Hana, who avoided his gaze. "That's crazy! What if he gets hard?!"

Mark's expression became a little lost, and he reached for another cheeto.

"You're both guys, why would he get hard?" Mika pointed out, raising her eyebrow suspiciously.

"Gahh… I hate you!" Haechan spun around and gave Jaemin another accusing glare.

Jaemin just shook his head, smiling insufferably. "You made me give Jeno a lap dance. Besides, Hana chose the numbers." He reminded him smugly.

"Oh come on, just get on with it." Sora said impatiently, rubbing her hands together. "I want to see some more Mark-Haechan action. They're  _so_  hot together."

Areum and Hana promptly turned red at Sora's words.

Seeing no way out of it, Haechan groaned and got off his chair, facing Mark awkwardly.

Mark gave him a quizzical smile. "Er, do you want me to stand up or sit down?" He asked, and Areum squealed.

"I can't take it! The mental image!" She giggled, looking away and peaking back, clasping her hand over her mouth.

"Just stay like that," Haechan muttered, getting on his knees in front of Mark and feeling his temple twitch as Areum muffled another squeak. Placing his hands on Mark's thighs, he leaned forward and glanced up at the teen, glaring at Mark's smile. "Hey, aren't you looking a little too happy about this?"

Mark tilted his head, looking confused. "Oh, sorry." He said, his lips twitching like he was trying not to smile.

"Stupid. Don't apologize." Haechan sighed, and leaned his head forward.

"Whoah!" Jaemin laughed, and Haechan frowned as he struggled to find the zipper tab. In order to get a good grip on it, he had to use his tongue to flip it out. He felt the muscle tense underneath his hands and glanced up with the zipper between his teeth, catching sight of Mark grimacing.

"Ooh, what's this?" Sora's voice cooed. "I've never seen Mark with this expression. It's hot."

Annoyed, Haechan tried to tug the tab down and was promptly surprised when it didn't budge. Furrowing his eyebrows in a perplexed frown, he tugged hard and saw Mark’s hands tighten into fists.

"What are you doing?" He said stiffly, voice coming out husky. "Hurry up…"

Face burning, as another ripple of cooing laughter erupted around the table, Haechan closed his eyes and jerked down with all his might. The zipper teeth came loose and he pulled it gently the rest of the way down, letting go and scrambling backwards. "That's way harder than it sounds!" He complained, rubbing his sore front teeth.

"Haechan, aren't you gonna help me pull it back up? It's embarrassing like this, you know." Mark called, smiling when Haechan whirled with a look of horror.

"You're always hitting on Haechan, and you guys are always together lately." Sora said with a flick of her wrist, missing the flash of alarm in Haechan's eyes. "Are you two like, together or something?"

"Yeah," Mark said, and Haechan promptly exploded.

" _Mark!_ "

"Whaat?" Areum gasped, while Sora raised her eyebrow in surprise.

"You're joking, right?" Hana laughed nervously.

"Yeah." Haechan said quickly, aware that even Jaemin had fallen silent in disbelief.

"No, I wasn't." Mark said, sounding a little insulted.

"Mark!" Haechan said sharply, shying away from Mark's reaching hands and feeling his face burn with everybody's stares. His mind raced as he tried to come up with an excuse for Mark's behaviour, but for some reason nothing came. "Sh… Shit, why would you say that?" He snapped, wishing he could disappear.

"A… Are you serious?" Jaemin finally managed to stammer, hazel eyes wide as he stared at them.

Haechan opened his mouth to retort but found himself speechless under everybody's intense stares. Feeling himself flame up, he turned and ran, wanting nothing but to get away from their shock.

"Haechan!" Somebody yelled after him and there was the sound of chairs scraping, but that only made Haechan run faster. He slipped into his shoes and was out the door in a matter of seconds, running across the street to his own house and stopping to calm down.

 

 

The summer sky was already pitch black – it must be late, he thought, glancing at his watch and then remembering he'd forgot to put it on after his shower. Sighing, Haechan straightened and tilted his head back, taking a deep breath of cool night air to calm his raging nerves.

_Now what?_

He felt himself shiver in fear and became aware of quiet footsteps. Stiffening, Haechan turned to face the approaching silhouette.

"…Haechan…" Mark's voice began reluctantly. Haechan took a step back as the boy came closer, but Mark broke into a run. "Wait!"

Haechan didn't bother glancing back, breaking off at a sprint down the street, but he'd barely taken a couple steps before Mark rammed into him.

"Ow, jeez!" Haechan flinched as the teen grabbed his wrists and turned him around forcefully, grimacing as he was pulled into Mark's chest. "What the hell do you want?" He snapped, trying not to breathe in Mark's freshly-shampooed scent.

"What do you mean? Why are you so angry?" Mark said, sounding bewildered.

"Of course I'm angry! Why would you tell them?" Haechan shoved him away, glaring at Mark and relishing the flash of hurt in the teen's eyes, even though his chest squeezed a little. "Look, I really enjoyed being with you, but this is it." He said shakily, taking another breath to calm himself. "If this is how things are going to be, getting teased all the time, then I can't take it."

"I... I didn't expect you to react like that. I'm sorry." Mark said, looking genuinely scared. He stepped forward and Haechan flinched away, but all the teen did was grab his hands. "I really am, I won't do it again."

"You've already gone and done it, idiot." Haechan snapped, pulling his hand away and pushing down his heavy grief down to his gut as Mark only squeezed his hands harder. "Let me go, I'm going to go home." He said seriously, giving Mark another glare. "This is gross."

Mark flinched and for a second he was speechless, but then as Haechan made to pull away again he shook his head and pulled the boy closer. "Wait, please don't," He stammered, grimacing as Haechan struggled.

"Let me go!"

"We've worked so hard and I've been so lucky to come this far, don't make me go backwards now!" Mark begged, reeling Haechan in and locking the boy against him with an iron grip.

"Mark, that  _hurts._ " Haechan hissed. "I can't breathe!"

"But…" Mark loosened his grip guiltily and Haechan broke free with a sigh. "Wait, don't run!" Mark cried immediately.

Haechan halted in mid-dash, thought about it, then turned and faced the boy with his darkest look. "What?" He snapped. "I said I've had enough."

"I'm sorry! I couldn't help it!" Mark said grabbing Haechan's shoulders, but gently this time. He gazed at Haechan, dark eyes appealing, and Haechan glanced away with a twinge of regret. "I love you, and we can't hide this for the rest of our lives – I love you, I really do, and I'm not afraid to admit it… aren't you the same?" He shook Haechan a little when Haechan didn't respond, his voice quivering. "Haechan, please!"

Squeezing his eyes shut, Haechan felt his hatred and anger turn into guilt and the grief floated up from his gut, turning into tears that he suddenly couldn't control. In a quiet voice, he whispered, "Yes, I love you… but I don't want to lose everything else, too."

Mark was silent for a long while, and once Haechan had gotten his sudden flow of tears under control he opened his eyes and saw in alarm that Mark's cheeks were wet.

"W…Why are you crying?" Haechan said in shock, reaching up and touching the boy's face to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

Mark sniffed and laughed, pressing Haechan's palm harder against his face and closing his eyes in a blissful expression. "Because Haechan said he loves me."

"Idiot – are you a girl?" Haechan spluttered, tensing as he felt Mark's arms wrap around his waist. He huffed as he was pulled back into a hug and sighed, resting his head resignedly against Mark's collar. "I'm sorry… I was scared." He admitted, closing his eyes as he felt Mark's chin settle on his head.

"It'll be okay. They're your friends for a reason, I trust you, Haechan." Mark's chuckle was broken by a brief hiccup.

"Oh jeez." Haechan said, lifting his head as Mark laughed again. "I guess so, I mean, we can't do anything about it now…" He blinked as Mark grabbed his face suddenly and smashed their lips together. "Nn?" Initially confused, Haechan relaxed as Mark's arms tightened around him and gave in to the kiss.

They made out under the dark sky, a foot away from the glowing lamplight, until Haechan was dizzy and breathless. Grabbing the front of Mark's shirt, Haechan gave the teen one more hard kiss, twining his fingers in Mark's hair for a couple more seconds, before parting with gasp, quieting under Mark's glowing gaze.

"Can I sleep over…?" Mark murmured, trailing his lips along Haechan's forehead.

Haechan closed his eyes, letting Mark support him as he leaned against the boy's sturdy body. "Sure…" He groaned, and let Mark kiss him again.

 

 

 

 

Once they'd had enough and their lips were sore, Haechan opened the garage and they slipped underneath the door quietly. Mark had made sure they hadn't left anything behind at Hana's house before leaving to chase after him, and with his parents back he didn't need to bring Timmy over too. As for his clothes… well, Haechan asked if he needed to get things, but Mark said it was fine as long as they had a spare toothbrush.

They bumped into Haechan's dad half-way up the stairs – he exchanged polite greetings with Mark and shrugged when Haechan asked if it was okay for him to sleep over.

"Why not? There's ice cream in the fridge if you guys are hungry." His dad said, brushing past them. "Try not to wake up Haneul." He added.

"Thanks, Dad." Haechan whispered.

"Thanks, Mr. Lee." Mark echoed, smiling.

Even though it was a Saturday, it was late, and Haechan was tired and sore and emotionally drained and all he wanted to do was go to bed. Giving Mark a new toothbrush and a disposable cup, they brushed their teeth and washed their faces, then headed into Haechan's room.

Mark made quick work with his clothes and then climbed onto Haechan's bed like it was his own, not even bothering to drag the blankets over his bare skin. Haechan sighed and averted his gaze as he changed into his pyjamas.

"Why don't you wear pyjamas?"

"Guys don't need to wear pyjamas." Mark smiled as Haechan turned around, patting the spot beside him. "Come."

Breaking out in a sudden blush, Haechan sighed and ruffled his hair and climbed in to the space beside Mark, turning his back pointedly as Mark snuggled up to him.

"Aw, don't be like that." Mark whispered, nibbling his ear. "I want to talk to you."

Annoyed, Haechan slapped his ear and turned around, feeling embarrassed at the sight of Mark's bare skin and pressing his face against the boy's chest just so he wouldn't be able to see it. Mark chuckled and wrapped his arms around Haechan, ruffling the boy's hair with his breath.

"Haechan, you aren't still mad, are you?"

"Hm? No…" Haechan said drowsily, relaxing in Mark's warmth as the rhythmic  _whirr whirr_  of the fan cooled the air around them. A car passed by outside, its engine fading in the shifting of their bed sheets.

"Okay…" Mark was silent for a while. Then he sighed, and kissed Haechan's head, his arm growing heavy around Haechan's shoulder as he relaxed, too. "I love you, Haechan."

"…Just go to sleep…" Haechan sighed, burying his face deeper into Mark's firm warmth.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Waking to the sound of his alarm beeping, Haechan sighed and curled up in his sheets, groaning inwardly.

 _It's morning, already?_  He sat up sluggishly, rubbing his eyes and glancing over to look for Mark before he remembered that it was already Monday, and they'd already spent all of yesterday together.

 _Oh, jeez._  Haechan dismissed his alarm and slid out of bed, struggling to remember if there was training today as he pulled some clothes out of his closet and stumbled into the bathroom for a quick shower.

 

 

 

After his shower, Haechan headed downstairs, awake enough to remember that he'd have to face his friends today. Gut churning, he resigned himself to a difficult day, wondering what to cook Haneul for breakfast when he realized that somebody was already cooking.

"Morning, Mom." Haechan said, trying not to sound surprised as he pulled open the fridge and looked for the milk. "Don't you have work?" He frowned a little as his phone vibrated but ignored the text, too hungry to care.  _Who would text me this early in the morning?_

"I felt a little sick so I took the day off." His mom gave him a wan smile. "There's soup, you can eat it with your toast. I'll send Haneul to school today."

"Really?" Haechan said, relieved. He didn't think he could deal with his sister's morning temper at the moment. "Thanks."

It was rare that he could slowly enjoy his breakfast, and by the time Haechan left the house he was in a considerably better mood. He set off at a brisk pace, remembering the text and pulling out his phone. Hana.  _Uh-oh._

_._

_Morning Haechan! Are you feeling better?_

.

Haechan sighed as he wondered how he should reply.  _Morning, princess. What's there to feel better about?_  He ended up saying, hearing a shout just as he pressed send.

"Haechan, wait!"

Pausing, Haechan half-turned and felt a smile twitch to his lips as Mark ran up to him, hair glistening and messy.

"I missed you!" Mark said enthusiastically, sweeping Haechan into a hug and nearly lifting him off his feet.

"Idiot, it's only been a day." Haechan laughed, flushing as Mark grabbed his hand and glancing around.

"Don't worry, nobody goes to school this early." Mark said, leaning closer to hide their hands from passing cars.

"Nobody that doesn't know," Haechan pointed out dryly.

"It's okay," Mark said earnestly, grinning like he was the happiest guy on earth. "I don't mind even if it's us against the world."

 

 

 

 

Once they'd reached the open road, Haechan pulled away and they walked to school like normal friends, talking about normal things. The district team tryouts were next week – Jaemin had brought a registration sheet to the party for Mark. Then they gossiped about Jaemin, who seemed to have broken up with his girlfriend and of course, Mark eventually brought up Hana and Jeno – what was going on between them?

"I don't think they're going out." Haechan shook his head when Mark suggested it. "When Hana goes out with someone, she  _really_  goes out with them, like, everybody else becomes invisible." He laughed, a little bitterly despite himself, and felt Mark's shoulder bump into him a little.

"She's not treating Jeno badly, though." Mark said hopefully. "Maybe she's just changing her view on relationships."

"Oh, I'm sure she has." Haechan said wryly, shooting Mark a look.

Mark's smile grew sheepish. "I'm sorry." He said again.

"It's okay." Haechan shrugged as they stopped to wait for the crosswalk. He looked around and caught sight of Jeno walking towards them from the other side of the corner, and gave the boy a wave before he suddenly remembered that he might not be welcomed.

But Jeno just gave them a twitchy smile. "Hey." He said.

"Hey." Haechan replied, lowering his arm awkwardly.

"Good morning." Mark said brightly.

Technically having acknowledged each other, they walked in tense silence for about a minute before Haechan couldn't stand it anymore.

"Uh –" He began, at the same time Jeno spoke up. "You first." Haechan said quickly.

Jeno's expression became uncharacteristically puzzled as he gave Mark and Haechan a long look, like he was trying to join the two of them together but couldn't mentally do it. "Are you guys really… uh, dating?" He said, trailing off a little wryly.

"…Yeah." Haechan said after a while, glancing at Mark.

Mark tilted his head and smiled. "Yeah." He repeated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Ah, well," Jeno laughed, but stopped short when Haechan sighed, his face growing serious. "Hey man, it's okay."

Haechan cast him a surprised look. "Really?"

"Of course." Jeno shrugged. "I understand, it's cool with me. I mean, you two are both good guys." He turned a little red, then ruffled his hair and shrugged his backpack higher up his muscular shoulders. "I won't tell anybody else, so… we good?"

"Yeah," Haechan said, surprised and relieved by the boy's kindness. "Of course."

Jeno smiled a little hesitantly. "So can you leave me and Hana alone now?"

Haechan faked a look of anger. "Now that's different –" He began, trailing off to join Mark's laugh.

 

 

 

 

It was nerve-wracking stepping into the English class and catching Hana's gaze – but she just smiled at them and talked like it was any other normal day, though Haechan noticed that she flirted with Mark considerably less. He had tests in his other classes since it was finals week, so he didn't get to talk to any of his friends until lunch time. At which point, Mark nearly had to drag him to their table.

"Oh, the newlyweds are here." Sora announced once she'd spotted them, and Haechan resisted the urge to run to another table.

"Yep." Mark agreed light-heartedly, taking a seat next to Sabrina and shifting over so Haechan could sit between them.

"It's squishy," Areum complained, finally looking up from her phone.

"Sit on his lap." Sora agreed, giving Haechan a smirk.

"What's up Areum? You don't have to be on your phone, we're all here!" Mark said in a friendly tone, leaning over in the girl's direction.

Areum snatched her phone away, looking a little red. "Nothing!"

"She's texting her new love interest," Sora said, sounding bored.

"Jaemin?" Haechan sat down in the narrow space and raised his eyebrow at Areum. "Seriously?"

"No!" Areum said, turning red.

"That guy's a douchebag." Haechan sighed.

"You and him are pretty similar, you know." Sora pointed out with a laugh. "Hey, doesn't it bother you that Mark's too good for you?"

Mark's suddenly looked concerned, but Haechan just laughed. " _Excuse me?_  If he's too good for me, then he's  _way_  out of your league."

"Oh!" Sora said in mock offense, but before she could retort, slim fingers slid over Haechan's shoulders and gave a small squeeze.

"Hi guys." Hana said quietly, sounding almost shy as Haechan tilted his head back to look at her.

"What's up?" Mark offered his expression equally as soft.

"Nothing." Hana shook her head and shrugged, then sighed heavily and let go of Haechan. "I'm just glad." She gave Haechan a smile, her lips thinning with a bittersweet touch. "I'm glad it's you. Mark couldn't have found anybody better."

"Aww," Sora cooed, about to elaborate when she was interrupted again by more hands on Haechan.

Haechan flinched at the weight on his head. "Hey, what's the big deal?" He complained, turning to see Mika taking a step back and crossing her arms, looking very serious. He half expected from her a lecture about how homosexuality was unproductive, but she just narrowed her eyes and said,

"Make sure to clean your butt out after, alright? Or you're going to get a lot of nasty problems."

" _Huh?_ " Haechan said in bewilderment as Mika turned her attention to Renjun, who had approached them rather cautiously. "What do you mean?" But she ignored him, and he turned to Mark. "What did she mean?"

Mark bit on his carrot, looking a little flushed. "I dunno." He mumbled, avoiding his gaze.

"Aw, come on!" Haechan grinned, nudging Mark and looking up briefly to catch Renjun's gaze.

Renjun turned a little pink, awkwardness spelt all over his face as he tried to smile. "Uh, congratulations." He said, beginning to sidle away.

"Hey, Renjun," Haechan called, collecting up his hurt and brushing it off. "When people ask how close our team is, you know how to answer."

Renjun's look of discomfort faded and a delighted smile twitched onto his lips as he took a seat next to Mika, chuckling softly. "Yeah…  _very_ close _._ "

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I want to say sorry for not updating this story sooner, but I've been really, really busy and I hope you will understand. :( ^^
> 
> Thank you, thank you, thank you! Thank you all so much for reading this, and hopefully you found it somewhat enjoyable. Seriously, if it wasn't for you guys, I would have never finished this story. <3
> 
> Thank you for all the sweet and encouraging comments! 
> 
> I will miss updating this fic so much. I really got attached to it ,like I'm a little bit sad because it's finished and also really really happy because it's finished. haha   
> But, I think I will write another Markhyuck fic soon (I love them and find them so cute together to don't do that) ahah ;) :D
> 
> Anyway .... Thank you guys for an amazing support ....I love you all so so much ... <3


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